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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28076592">12 Days of Rayllum</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlehBlahBluh/pseuds/BlehBlahBluh'>BlehBlahBluh</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>MBTMS Collection [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>12 Days of Christmas Prompts, Christmas, College AU, Cute, F/M, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Hitman AU, Monster Hunter AU, Romance, Tattoo Parlour AU, future family au, more tags to come for each au, sorta - Freeform, superhero au</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:15:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>25,807</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28076592</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlehBlahBluh/pseuds/BlehBlahBluh</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Part of my Magic Between the Moon &amp; Sky oneshot collection. Though, I wouldn't say you need to read any of it for continuity or context. They're oneshots! You'll get the gist. </p><p>12 Days of Rayllum, in which each day will be a prompt dedicated to the chapter title.</p><p>1st Day of Rayllum: A Party &amp; a Pastry</p><p>2nd Day of Rayllum: Turtled Love</p><p>3rd Day of Rayllum: Drenched Plans</p><p>4th Day of Rayllum: Stalling Words</p><p>5th Day of Rayllum: Golden Things</p><p>6th Day of Rayllum: Beast A-Slaying</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Callum &amp; Rayla (The Dragon Prince), Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>MBTMS Collection [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2056833</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. 1st Day of Rayllum</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A/N: Howdy! Now some of you clicking onto this might think this might not know Magic Between the Moon &amp; Sky (MBTMS) and that's fine! It's essentially a oneshot collection consisting of varies Rayllum AUs and stories, and honestly, you wouldn't need the context to get what's going on in these stories. </p><p>This is just a fun thing I decided to do for the holidays and I hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>A Party &amp; a Pastry</strong>
</p><p>"A Christmas party?" Rayla echoed, closing her locker shut as she stared at her childhood best friend.</p><p>Callum nodded as he continued to rifle through both his locker and messenger bag, looking for his books and notes. "Yup! Aunt Amaya's girlfriend is flying in with her family, so it'll be a whole celebration!" he cheerfully explained. "<em>And</em>, Mom's gonna be making her famous jelly tarts! She's even setting aside a whole batch for Ez so we can <em>all</em> have some!"</p><p>Rayla's eyes lit up at that. She only ever had a couple, and it was because Callum would split his with her since he knew she loved sweets so much. Ezran was notorious for devouring Sarai's jelly tarts within seconds, so Rayla could count the amount of times she's eaten one on a single hand—ones she's had to share with Callum of course. Sarai only made a small batch at a time and only for special occasions because according to her, <em>"It's not special if you have it everyday!"</em> Which everyone thought was absurd because they would <em>never</em> not be special, but they all understood the principal of tradition. Still, to have the promise of an entire batch saved for Ezran? That meant Rayla would have at<em> least</em> one, whole jelly tart.</p><p>The Scottish girl practically foamed at the mouth with the idea. <em>But</em>…</p><p>Rayla seethed. "I dunno Cal. My folks are invitin' Uncle Runaan and his husband over for Christmas dinner outing and ya know it's been awhile since I saw them!"</p><p>His eyes shot wide. "Runaan and Ethari are visiting? Why am I <em>just</em> finding out about this the week before we go on break!"</p><p>Because she <em>just</em> made it up. Rayla sheepishly shrugged. "I-I just found out today! They're only flyin' in for Christmas and leavin' on the twenty-sixth!" That wasn't <em>too</em> far fetched, right? Holiday flights were a pain to book sure, but quick visits were still a thing during holidays.</p><p>He frowned at that. "Dammit, if I had known I would've gotten them a present!" Rayla really felt bad about Callum's frustration. Uncle Ethari really liked Callum, and loved to hang out with him, and here she was making him feel sad about something that wasn't even happening.</p><p>"It's a busy few days. Sorry. I-I won't be able to make it." She sighed. "I wish there was some way but—"</p><p>Callum rolled his eyes and snorted. "Ray, it's <em>you</em>. My parents would <em>love</em> to have you all over as well! The more the merrier! 'Sides, you know Ethari is <em>equally</em> as excited to see me as much as you!" he teased. "My parents love chatting with Runaan too, it'll be a classic reunion!" His offer sung with high hopes and a smile.</p><p>That smile she loved so much.</p><p>The one she had to <em>constantly</em> lie to.</p><p>She frowned. "We already made plans. Sorry Cal." She shrugged. When his smile fell and his face look downcast, she kicked herself in the mental groin for being so damn believable with her lies. She <em>did</em> want a pastry. And she had been to their Christmas parties before—they were always a blast. "<em>But</em>," his eyes shot up, "I can probably slip out of our dinner early to join your party! Only for a bit, of course, but my folks and Uncles won't mind!"</p><p>Callum's face lit up at that. "Great! I'll hold you to it!" He held his fist out and shook it, "Props Promise?"</p><p>An uneasy, unnerving filling flooded within her gut as soon as he said that. But, they had never backed out on a Props Promise before. Not even in their childhood. She grinned, nodding as she bumped her fist with his, knocking them together three times before locking pinkies. "Props Promise," she whispered.</p><p>"And it's a lock," Callum winked.</p><p>They parted ways, again Physics being no fun without her best friend. But Rayla sighed to herself. Hoping she could keep her promise.</p><p>::::</p><p>It wasn't like she <em>wanted</em> to lie.</p><p>But Christmas was full of other plans. And no, not dinner with her parents and uncles. Despite what Callum thought, her folks were actually going out for a Christmas getaway courteous of Rayla! She had told them she was going to spend her night with Callum's family anyways, and pushed them to go out and have fun for the holidays, enjoying a Thursday to Sunday long weekend of spa fun. Of course, <em>neither</em> were true because what Rayla really needed, was reasons to avoid being held up.</p><p>Because <em>Moonshadow</em> needed her Christmas plans wide open.</p><p>It had taken months of preparations. Busting gang deals, interrogating criminal informants, and spying/surveilling routes. But she found it. A splinter mercenary gang illegally purchasing <em>Viren Industries</em> products on the black market. Products that weren't like the usual <em>Viren Vignette Coffee</em> or <em>Viren Viper Car</em>. No, <em>Viren Industries </em>was mass producing countless illegal weapons and drugs to gangs and criminal organizations all over the city. And the night of Christmas Day, a big black market showcase was going down and <em>Viren Industries</em> was rumoured to make an auctioning.</p><p>Whether it be the seller themselves or just the actual product with <em>actual</em> traceable information, Moonshadow would bust them.</p><p>But that meant abandoning all plans with family and friends, and Christmas karaoke, and jelly tarts, and <em>Callum</em>. She took a deep breath as she pulled her hood over her head, feeling the brisque chill of the cold night. She had to do this. As much as she wanted to be hanging out beside Callum's fireplace, wrapped up in a blanket with him, munching on jelly tarts and drinking hot chocolate—she had a job to do. Perched atop the corner of an apartment building rooftop, Moonshadow set her eyes upon the docks a couple blocks over.</p><p>Like all good black market deals, the current one of Moonshadow's interest was also set in the warehouse in the harbour. From the collection of intel she gathered from thugs and dealers, the last Friday of every other month was when they all met up. She had accumulated all of this back in October, narrowly missing the last black market showcasing in time, so she had to wait and prepare for the next one. And it was going down <em>now</em>.</p><p>She hopped from roof to roof, carefully keeping her body low as she maneuvered through the apartment building rooftops. She picked up from the first two vans that the gangs were arriving at twenty minutes intervals, and the last black SUV pulled into the dock's parking garage thirty-five minutes ago. This was everyone. This was her chance.</p><p>Scaling down the building using the fire escape, she hurriedly rushed across the street and over to the warehouse. No guards anywhere—her intel was good. Nights like these would look more suspicious if people were loitering around an abandoned warehouse all evening, but that didn't mean they were completely unguarded. Moonshadow glanced up at the top of the building, noticing a small ledge from the window halfway up.</p><p>She took a deep breath. And let herself immerse into her surroundings.</p><p>Shadows.</p><p>Darkness.</p><p>The <em>Moon</em>.</p><p>She could feel her body's muscles strengthen. It was a full moon—faster power up for her. Crouching down into a squat, Moonshadow felt the surge of power shock into her calves and jumped. In a single bound, she managed to reach the window ledge, gripping onto it fiercely. Peeking her head over the window, she could see it.</p><p>Dozens and dozens of them. From mobster suits to the urban gang outfits; it was everyone. Every gang she had been tracking ever since—</p><p>And her eyes found it.</p><p>Right in the centre of the room, on a stage, on a cart were a black collection of barrels. She had no doubt that they were filled to the brim with dark purple ooze. Moonshadow glared at the labels. Medically Altered Gene Irradiated Construction: M.A.G.I.C.. The very same substance that was responsible for supposedly changing the future of medicine. Capable of killing dangerous genes and altering them into healthier cells for the body, <em>Viren Industries</em>' latest medical marvel. And, coupled with a Katolis High field trip to the aforementioned science centre?</p><p>You create a superhero Hell bent on shutting this operation down.</p><p>Moonshadow's eyes scanned the interiors more. No one seemed to be on the catwalks, the majority do the guards weren't even carrying anything like an assault rifle, so that possibly meant they were all concealing their handguns. It was still an auctioning she supposed, and most of these gangs were notorious for having conflict with each other—seeing so many armed guards might've resulted in some itchy trigger fingers. Still, a small part of her worried she was in over her head. She hadn't expected <em>this </em>many.</p><p>Nonetheless, she had her plan.</p><p>Digging into her belt's pouch, she pulled out her burner phone and dialed 911.</p><p>Step one: get back up.</p><p>Putting on her patented American accent, she said "Howdy? I'd like ta report a crime?"</p><p>::::</p><p>Step two: infiltrate and discombobulate.</p><p>The police wouldn't be able to handle these guys. Especially since the first responders coming were expecting thugs breaking into the thrift shop across the street. But by the time shots fired—and she knew they would—she had to make sure they weren't dangerous. She counted around thirty-three baddies, and each gang were respectively gathered into groupings in an audience. And no doubt they were all armed.</p><p>Moonshadow crept around through the catwalk, quietly moving as she watched a pale, well dressed man literally take the stage. He had a galaxy-like coloured three piece suit, and white hair longer than Moonshadow's. On either side of him stood two black suits, dressed in a sort of secret service ensemble.</p><p>"Now, I understand everyone's concerns regarding the <em>rumoured</em> Vigilante," his voice was deep, soothing, and captured the attention of the audience immediately, "but my employer and I can assure you—there have been no leaks on our end. However, I cannot control the extension of <em>your</em> underlings and to whom they mouth off to—"</p><p>"You sayin' it's our fault?" a voice shouted, causing an uproar of murmurs to spread.</p><p>"Ladies and gentlemen <em>please</em>, I would never imply such a thing!" His sardonic tone implied otherwise, but judging from the crowd's died down whispers it either went over their heads or they didn't care. I'm merely assuring you that we have done what we can to secure the necessary safety of our auction. But we cannot speak for certain."</p><p>So they <em>were </em>onto her. It seemed like she still remained a rumour to the streets, but not enough to the point where <em>Viren Industries</em> was investigating her. Luckily for her, that also meant they still had no idea how her powers worked. She made her way over to the far end of the building and quickly began her search. Sure enough, she found it: a circuit breaker. She pulled out her burner phone and took a deep breath—it was time.</p><p>She threw her phone at full force right at the circuit breaker, smashing it into bits as the panel itself sparked like fireworks. She then turned and dashed back toward her perch above the stage as the lights began flickering. Gasps and startled whispers spurred as she watched the galaxy suited man made a break for the barrels. The lights finally went out and the entire building was pitch black, with the exception of moonlight streaming through the high windowsills.</p><p>She closed her eyes and activated her camouflage. Feeling her skin tingle with a chill sensation, she opened her eyes and it worked: her body was shimmering like a glassy window. She wasn't completely invisible, but with her night vision and shadow-like presence, she would be a blur. Her concentration held as she cleared her throat announced herself, "Now, shall we begin the bid for our product of interest tonight?"</p><p>The crowd sporadically looked around, with several pulling out their guns in alarm.</p><p>Moonshadow smirked. "I'll start!" she shouted, gaining their attention to the rafters as she hopped down to the stage, "How 'bout an ass kicking for thirty-three?" The guards on the stage reached into their coats but she moved fast, punching one square in the jaw and kicking the other in the gut, sending them both off stage. "And sold! To the two henchmen in secret service suits!"</p><p>The auctioneer immediately dove off the stage, and soon enough the crowd started scattering. Half the crowd fumbled for their guns while the other half ran for the exits, or at least, where they thought the exits were.</p><p>"It's her!"</p><p>"I <em>knew</em> she was real!"</p><p>"Take her out!"</p><p>Bullets began launching at her but she hopped out of the way long before they fired. Out of the stage and into the crowd, their shooting ceased, in fear of crossfire. With that moment of hesitation Moonshadow acted. "How 'bout a bid for who gets the worse bruises?" she jumped forward and clocked two guys out instantly. Suddenly, a large burly man charged at her with a pocket knife. Thrusting forward at her, Moonshadow deflected his attack with her forearm, then sent her other elbow straight to his face, knocking him out cold.</p><p>Another rushed at her from behind, taking a swing at her head but she blocked it with her bicep and carried her momentum with her other hand as she struck the man's gut. He folded on the spot and she grabbed his body, twirling him around and launching him at a group behind her ready to take aim, successfully knocking them all out. Ten down, twenty-three more to go. And then the rest went like clockwork.</p><p>She darted around the entire floor, knocking out anyone who pulled out their gun and disarming those who dared to pull a knife on her. Bullets fired but she dashed aside before they even landed at her spot. Fists flew but she was faster, blocking their blows and clocking them out within seconds. She was thinning out the herd quick.</p><p>A bullet zipped by her head, and she instantly whipped around to find a thug aiming a gun at her. She ducked out of his line of fire and rolled over the stage for cover, <em>barely</em> dodging his shots. Time had passed enough for some of them to adjust their eyes on the dark, even with her camouflage. It was times like these where she really wished she had a long ranged option. As she peaked over the stage, she realized the barrels of M.A.G.I.C were gone. Her eyes darted around to find the galaxy suited man hauling them away with a guard all on a cart.</p><p>She dashed over and sent a flying kick to the guard pushing the cart. He fell face first into the ground as the auctioneer paused in his steps. She watched as a smug smirk fell upon his lips.</p><p>"So the rumours <em>are</em> true. Moonshadow exists. Never thought the name to be <em>so</em> literal," his velvety voice spoke.</p><p>She scoffed. "Ya're pretty confident for a guy's whose eyes are 'bout the same colour as his suit!"</p><p>He merely scoffed. "Your interest in chasing <em>me</em> tells me two things: you are aware of what these are capable of," his gaze shifted to the barrels, "and that you've dug <em>far </em>too deep into this." His hands slowly maneuvered into his jacket.</p><p>"No sense in playin' around pal," she leapt forward and grabbed his arm, "<em>Viren Industries </em>is busted."</p><p>Her grip suddenly shook as she met his eyes. They were yellow but glowing like hers did in the dark. His body shimmered and before she could react, she was flung across the room. Her back colliding with the stage and she groaned in pain. Her accelerated healing would take care of that later, but in the morning that would be sore. She glanced up and watched as the man smiled and walked away, looking normal as he did before.</p><p>But, she <em>swore</em> he—</p><p>Moonshadow shook her thoughts out as she ran after him. Questions were for later, catching was <em>now</em>. But as she arrived at the barrels, he stopped and turned. He was holding a detonator. And for a split second, she heard the beeping come from the barrels.</p><p>Without hesitation, Moonshadow jumped to the side, but a massive explosion followed after her and sent her toward a stack of crates in the corner. She was <em>definitely </em>feeling that one in the morning. Moonashadow barely registered the noises around her as she smelt the sizzling fire burn. Her eyes blinked open. The warehouse was a mess of unconscious bodies and a bonfire of barrels set ablaze in the pitch dark.</p><p>And then the sirens came.</p><p>::::</p><p>Tonight was a fail.</p><p>Sure, at least two-thirds of the mobs were apprehended, but a handful of the auctioned items were missing. And so were destroyed because she <em>landed </em>on them. The police narrowly missed her before she slipped out of the warehouse, but even then she still had no certainty everything was in order. It was a good job. She knew that. She did her part and stopped the auction. At the very least, an investigation would spark from the police and it would crack down on their bi-monthly market deals.</p><p>But no.</p><p>Her main gripe was her run in with Galaxy Man. And yes, that was what she was calling him for now until she learned his name. Rayla realized how much she had to learn after only doing this for barely just half a year. For starters, she needed some sort of throwing weapon, one that didn't cause her to use a costly burner phone that would take a while to replace. Her second problem was that she didn't exactly <em>confirm</em> any intel. She didn't record or document anything. She should've realized it was a set up.</p><p>Nothing there was really credited with <em>Viren Industries</em> on its label aside from word of mouth. And though it might've been obvious Galaxy Man worked for said company, he certainly didn't tip his hand much. In fact, the only thing he did tip was that they <em>were</em> onto her. Everything she prepped for the last few months, was all a setup for <em>Viren Industries</em> to confirm her existence.</p><p>She was terrible at this.</p><p>A sniff escaped her and she hadn't even realized she was crying. She had found a small alleyway to duck and change before making her way home, but that meant having to walk the rest of the way. It was her routine, as she couldn't risk being seen entering her neighbourhood in her hero outfit. Another sniffle released as she shook her head. And after all that lying, all of that preparation and tireless work, for what?</p><p>She lifted her head up and watched as the house next to hers had no lights on inside. With the exception of the colour changing porch Christmas lights, it was dark. They were asleep. Callum's Christmas party was done and she missed everything. She spent her entire Christmas planning and prepping for a fail, and here she had another. Rayla choked back another sob as she shouldered her duffel bag strap on more comfortably, attempting to muster the courage to walk by his house. She was pathetic.</p><p>"Ahhh, <em>there</em> she is!"</p><p>She froze in her spot as she turned, surprised to find Callum sitting at the steps of his porch, layered in a winter jacket and his signature red scarf. It wasn't too chilly out for him to warrant wearing fingerless gloves, but he always was more easy going with cold, especially when he was sketching out late. He tucked his book into his messenger bag as he flashed a smile at her. Call it dumb nerves or her emotional state, but she <em>instantly</em> felt better just by looking at that smile of his.</p><p>"Ca… Cal?" her voice was a bit shaky from all the silent crying, so she kept her distance because she <em>knew </em>he could tell if she got closer. "What… what're ya doin' up?"</p><p>"Waiting for you."</p><p>Her heart melted. They made a Props Promise and she failed him and it was already like half past ten and he was <em>waiting</em> all night. He said it so simply as he just scooted his spot over and patted the empty space. Like they had sat down here so many times when they were kids; whenever she was feeling sad they sat at his front porch, and if he was feeling down they would do the same at hers. Their parents never really got it, but the two of them explained something about how where you have your shoulder to cry on helped immensely. And he already knew she was sad.</p><p>She wordlessly walked over as she hung her head low. "Cal… I-I'm so sorry. It was a Props Promise and I-I-I broke it! I thought I could make it in time but…" she couldn't even think of anything to say, to <em>lie </em>with. She didn't have it in her.</p><p>He patted the empty space again and she obeyed, sitting beside him as she rested her head on his shoulder. He wrapped a comforting arm around her as he squeezed her tight. So easy, so simple.</p><p>"Why are ya always so forgiving?" she found herself asking.</p><p>"Ray? What was our Props Promise this time?"</p><p>She sighed. "That I would make it to your party."</p><p>"<em>No</em>," she made a noise of confusion as he corrected, "it was that you that you could <em>probably </em>make it to our party and stick around for a bit. You know? Probably? Like, as in, not likely but there is a chance?" She lifted her head and watched as he smiled at her so easily. "And I figured there was a chance you wouldn't."</p><p>A sniff escaped her. Dammit. "So why did ya wait out so long?"</p><p>"Because I figured there was a chance you wouldn't," he smugly replied. Rayla chuckled as she rested her head against his shoulder again. He was too nice for her. Too forgiving. "And besides, Props Promises are two ways aren't they?" And much to her silent dismay, he retracted his arm to dig into his messenger bag, revealing a small thermal lunch bag. He opened the bag as he gestured it to her.</p><p>Rayla's world stopped once more. "A <em>jelly tart</em>!" she nearly shouted. "Ya saved me one?"</p><p>"Yup!" he laughed. "I even bought a small thermal bag for this just in case. It was a week's worth of cautionary planning. But getting the opening to take one before my pig of a family wolfed them all down was the real challenge."</p><p>Rayla's mouth salivated at the sight as she dug her hand in. It was really warm, it made her frozen hands feel better. "Lemme guess, Ez stayed up last night so he could get first crack at your mum's tarts."</p><p>Callum rolled his eyes in that adorable way that expressed his irritation but also had so much affection. "I swear, I think he's more excited about the jelly tarts rather than his presents."</p><p>"Did he like yours this year?" Callum nodded. "Good. I figure he would. He's always complainin' 'bout his controller. I told ya he'd like it."</p><p>Callum chuckled. "Yup. You did."</p><p>Just as Rayla was about to take a bite out of her pastry delight, she watched Callum's eyes flicker with a look she knew to be jealousy. A wanting. He had that look whenever bought chips from the cafeteria. He had it whenever she ordered a burger meal with fries. She stopped herself and stared at him but he quickly turned his head. "Cal… there was none left this time… was there?"</p><p>He sighed. Just as he knew her well enough to do all of this, she knew him too. "My mom didn't have enough ingredients this year, she forgot to prep for two batches."</p><p>Rayla closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew the answer anyways, but still asked, "Did ya have any?"</p><p>He shook his head.</p><p>He was also too <em>giving</em> sometimes.</p><p>Rayla scoffed as she broke apart her tart and quickly handed it to him, mindfully watching for the dripping jelly. He wordlessly accepted and sighed before biting into it. "Thanks Ray."</p><p>She laughed. "Ya know I'm not much of a gift giver for this time of year so count that as my present," she mused before taking her bite. Her heart warmed at the sensation within her mouth. Sarai's jelly tarts were heaven upon heaven.</p><p>He chuckled. "Only if you count your half as mine."</p><p>It was true though. Rayla wasn't really a fan of gift giving. She liked the concept, thought it was sweet, but she could never obligate herself to it. She gave gifts to Callum on his birthdays of course, but more often than not she thought the gesture in quality time together was enough. Callum understood that about her. It's why he waited. It was why he <em>always</em> waited. Even when right now, he could easily ask any question and poke a hole in her lies, he didn't. He just understood her.</p><p>"Merry Christmas Callum."</p><p>As if it was possible, his smile grew.</p><p>"Merry Christmas Rayla."</p><p>They clicked their halved pastries before taking another bite. And they ate the rest of their delicious baked good in silence. A comfortable silence they were used to. Like every Christmas before, a shared tart and hope that there was always next Christmas… that just maybe Ezran wouldn't eat them all. They both knew it would be too good to be true regardless. And, speaking of next times, a thought occurred in Rayla's mind.</p><p>"My folks are planning a New Years party," Rayla chirped up, watching as an amused smile slowly form on her best friend's lips, "Think ya can make it?"</p><p>He laughed, extending a fist out to her. "Props Promise?"</p><p>"Props Promise," she agreed, bumping their fists three times before locking pinkies, "and it's a lock."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: If you are curious, yes, Galaxy Man is Aavaros. Now if the superhero AU has interested you, you can click on the chapter index for MBTMS and just find the chapter title with Superhero AU in the name! Doesn't really add much to the story, but it's more content I guess. Her powers: enhanced strength, enhanced agility, enhanced healing, night vision, and camouflage. Her powers only work at night.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. 2nd Day of Rayllum</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Turtled; Capsized, turned on its side. Love works in weird ways. A complete 180. College AU.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Turtled Love</strong>
</p><p>"Yoo! Cal?" Rayla called as she knocked on his dorm's door. "Clauds and I were wondering if ya're up for some pizza? Her treat!"</p><p>Claudia gasped. "What? I didn't agree to—"</p><p>"<em>Cal</em>?" the jock ignored, rapping another knock on his door. "Ya up?"</p><p>Claudia rolled her eyes. She had no idea why they were even here. She just had a craving for some Hawaiian pizza and bumped into Rayla in the quad. She saw it as an opportunity to get to know the English Lass more, one-on-one. Yet, the second she offered, the girl extended her invitation to Callum, wondering if he would like to join them. Claudia wasn't sure if that meant Rayla wasn't comfortable being alone with her or if she was just <em>that</em> inseparable with him—or if she just figured he would've liked some pizza. Regardless, Claudia felt as if they could've at least made their order by now instead of having to drop by the boy's dorms.</p><p>She even suggested just texting or calling, but according to Rayla, she "hadn't seen him today yet" and so she wanted to make it an in-person conversation. But by the third knocking, Claudia had enough.</p><p>"Rayla, I'm pretty sure he's not there. Maybe he's in his art studio," she suggested.</p><p>Rayla shook her head. "Nah, he's gotta be passed out. He doesn't drop by his studio on Tuesday afternoons anymore, his neighbour blasts MarianasTrench in his studio all afternoon and it echoes non-stop, he can't focus," she explained as she dug into her letterman jacket pockets.</p><p>Claudia raised a brow at that. "Is Marianas Trench <em>that</em> bad? I thought I've heard him listen to it before?"</p><p>Rayla shrugged as she pulled out a set of keys. "Probably. Cal's not good at rememberin' artists' names sometimes. Or rather, can't be bothered to search 'em up. It's just that <em>Beatles</em> is his mood music and if somethin' playing over it it messes his flow and he can't get into the zone as much, least for his school projects that is."</p><p>Claudia blinked at the new information. She hadn't really noticed that about Callum. The times where she and Soren did stop by his studio she recalled <em>Beatles</em> playing in the background, but she hadn't really noticed how focused he was because of that. She blinked out of her thoughts once again as she realized what Rayla was doing. "<em>Wait</em>. Why do you have a <em>key</em> to Callum's dorm?"</p><p>Rayla shrugged the door unlocked. "He lost it once and asked me to search my dorm for it. Couldn't find it at all 'til I shook it outta my jacket by accident. Dunno how it ended up there but he already got a new one by then, so he said I can keep it." She opened the door and stepped in, and much to Claudia's surprise, a look of disappointment overtook her face. His room was empty. A half made bed, some scattered pants and shirts, and a cluttered desk of art supplies and papers. "Darn, he <em>isn't</em> here. Hmm, maybe he had to visit home real quick."</p><p>"Hang on, back up," Claudia quickly said. "Does <em>he</em> have a spare key to <em>your</em> dorm?" she inquired.</p><p>Rayla nodded. "Yeah? Seemed only fair." Claudia couldn't believe it. Callum didn't even let her and Soren into his bedroom when they all went to high school together. He was always private about his things, it took a long time for them to wear him down just to let them into his dorm room. Heck, she didn't even have time to process the fact that she was planning on <em>entering</em> his room while he was <em>sleeping </em>to ask him if he wanted pizza! Claudia's thoughts couldn't even keep up as Rayla <em>continued</em> to shock her with her next action: she walked over to Callum's bed and began making his bed.</p><p>"Rayla…"</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>"What are you doing…"</p><p>She stopped herself mid fold, blinking out of her trance and smiling sheepishly. "Oh sorry right! Pizza! Uhh, ya go on ahead. I'll catch up! I'm just gonna clean up real quick!" Claudia blinked once again in disbelief as she watched Rayla fold Callum's blankets.</p><p>"Clean up… <em>Callum's</em> bed…?"</p><p>"Uhh well, his room too obviously," Rayla answered as she folded the blanket once more and neatly placed it at the end of his bed. Before Claudia could even inquire anything else, Rayla crouched down and began picking up his scattered shirts and pants. She folded his sweaters neatly, and tucked his pants into nice piles onto his bed.</p><p>"Do… you <em>often</em> clean up after him?"</p><p>She snorted at that. "Pfft, he's not a slob Clauds. Sometimes he just gets so wrapped up in his art he forgets! No biggie," she shrugged as she walked over to his desk. "I help when I can."</p><p>Claudia watched as Rayla neatly placed Callum's art supplies in their respective places. His pencils in empty mugs, erasers in another, his pens tucked away in small neat cases. She was even more amazed with what happened next. His desk had a couple of papers laid out, all filled with sketches, and Rayla <em>picked them up</em>. Claudia would've warned anyone else—herself included—that Callum was protective of his sketches. He let Soren and her see them, sure, but he <em>rarely </em>ever let them touch any.</p><p>But Rayla carried it with care, holding the edges like it was a fragile bird as she smiled fondly at the drawing. Claudia stepped forward and of course, it was <em>Rayla</em>. Her in her football uniform, with a hardened face and her helmet in her hands. Like, it was <em>really </em>her. It looked so vivid and real, it kind amazed Claudia. Rayla chuckled to herself as she shook her head, gently putting the paper away into some folder that was on his shelf. "What a dork."</p><p>"He really likes drawing you, huh?"</p><p>"Drawin' me wrong, if ya mean," she laughed as she pulled the paper out and showed it to Claudia, "He drew me with four fingers again."</p><p>Claudia stared and was surprised to see, that for the amount of detail he went through with drawing her hair and it's purple streaks and even her lashes, he messed that up.</p><p>"He's been doing that ever since he messed up that one time. Now it's sorta his inside joke." She tucked it back in before placing the folder back on the shelf. "Got him in trouble once too! He handed in a model sketch for class and his prof left a note sayin', 'Humans have four hands.'" She burst into a fit of giggles that honestly shocked Claudia.</p><p>Rayla always acted more tough jock-like around her, she rarely ever sounded so bubbly.</p><p>She knew Callum and her were close. But, from the general teasing and obliviousness they had, Claudia never thought they would just… suddenly click. It seemed like an endless hopeless case. The way Rayla acted about him, it was so personable and sweet, she understood him and was comfortable with him. It was <em>domestic</em>. The perfect word for the two's relationship. The way they just <em>did</em> things that seemed too intimate or flirty or just downright personal—they just felt that comfortable with each other. It was pure and genuine and just made sense. They just get one another.</p><p>Claudia smiled at her, fondly staring before asking, "You really care about him, don't you?"</p><p>Rayla scoffed like it was the easiest answer in the world. "Duh. 'Course I care." She raised her head and looked as if she finally clicked out of her maid mode. "What is it?"</p><p>She shook her head. "Nothing. Now you done cleaning his room or you wanna get a pizza?"</p><p>The football player laughed as she pushed Callum's office chair into the desk. "Yeah, yeah, c'mon," she pulled out her keys and tossed them up and down, "I'll just get my own pizza and we'll split it later."</p><p>Claudia shook her head once again, as she followed the woman out the room, because <em>of course</em> she would think about saving him some. She smiled to herself, knowing that a certain bet with her brother would be won this coming Christmas party this Friday.</p><p>::::</p><p>Christmas Eve was a particularly stressful affair for Harrow. As preparations of baked goods to gifts and relative residency were what had him running ragged all day. His youngest son, Ezran preferred to be extra persistent in finding his presents so he could unwrap them early. Even the threats of no jelly tarts was not enough to stop his determination. Why he wanted to find them the day <em>before</em>? Harrow had no clue, but his wife tasked him with keeping him in check as she prepped the food. And while most Christmases the big meal prep was for the morning breakfast, a good portion was being saved for their dinner party later that night at Viren's place, as they all had been invited to celebrate together.</p><p>Sarai suspected Viren made another purchase to his mansion and wanted to show off to Harrow, but he wasn't complaining.</p><p>Still, that meant Christmas Eve this time of year was even <em>more</em> exhausting than most. His sister in-law and her girlfriend preferred to sit and eat in the living room together, occasionally helping Ezran with hints in finding his present's hiding spot. Ezran's pet toad had now joined, released from his habitat, and now Harrow had to be mindful of where he stepped. Then there was the taste testing for Sarai's food and helping her in the kitchen, of course Amaya would've liked to help, but she enjoyed his suffering far more. And of course, Callum was holed up in his old bedroom, claiming to have been, "struck with inspiration" and hadn't come down all morning.</p><p>"It's under the bathroom sink in your bedroom again, isn't it?" Ezran's voice echoed as Harrow collapsed onto the sofa, much to the amusement of Amaya and her girlfriend, Janai.</p><p>Before he could even deny it, their doorbell went off. He immediately shot up to his feet. "I'll get it! Dibs!" he rushed over the door, "<em>Please</em>, be Santa here to give me the gift of a moment to <em>breathe</em>!"</p><p>"I don't believe in him anymore!" Ezran shouted as Harrow opened the door.</p><p>Much to his surprise, it was his star Quarterback of Katolis College, standing out on his front porch with a bright smile. Even more surprisingly, she wasn't wearing her trademark letterman jacket, but instead the Katolis sweater hoodie, which was sort of tight on her and <em>not at all</em> warm from what he knew of its material. Sure, it wasn't snowing and there were only a few mounds of snow on their green grass, but it was fairly breezy out.</p><p>"Um, hiya Coach?" she threw up a two finger salute.</p><p>"R-Rayla!" he greeted, "Sorry, I was just—it's chilly out, are you not cold?"</p><p>She laughed as she offered a very shivered shrug. "That's actually why I'm here."</p><p>"Oh? Why, what can we do for you on this fine Christmas Eve?"</p><p>"Is Cal down yet?" she shot back.</p><p>Harrow blinked. "Oh um, sorry he's busy—come in! Come in!" He motioned her inside and she accepted, stomping her boots out on the porch first to rid herself of tracking in any snow beforehand.</p><p>He then heard his wife's voice call from the kitchen, <em>"Harrow, honey? Who is it!"</em></p><p>He smiled. "It's Rayla, sweetheart!"</p><p>"<em>Really?"</em> A clattering sounded off and a sink began running. Harrow laughed at that.</p><p>"I-I really won't be stayin' long, I'm afraid," Rayla spoke up. She looked as if she was about to elaborate further, but her attention drew to the living room, where she noticed Amaya, Janai, and Ezran staring at her. She waved. "Uhhh, hi!"</p><p>The three waved. It must've been the way Amaya waved, but Rayla's eyes lit up at that as she took a step forward, motioning her hands as she spoke, "You're Amaya?" Harrow recognized—from his severely limited knowledge of the language—that she was fingerspelling his sister in-law's name. When she nodded, Rayla continued signing, <em>My name's Rayla. Callum's friend.</em></p><p>Amaya threw her head back in understanding as she nodded. She signed back as Janai translated, "So I've heard. He talks a lot about you when we FaceTime."</p><p>A flush appeared on the Quarterback's face. <em>I hope so</em>, she signed back.</p><p>The two looked amused at that. "My wife does not mind if you speak and sign at the same time," Janai chimed in, also signing, "She's not particular about that sort of thing." Amaya nodded in agreement.</p><p>Rayla nodded as she replied, "Aye, Cal told me. But he's been teachin' me sign and said it's bad habits to learn while speakin'."</p><p>Amaya grinned at that. "Good advice. Good teacher," Janai commented.</p><p>"Best there is," Rayla smirked.</p><p>"Oh and speaking of," Harro remembered, "He's currently in <em>the zone</em>, so I have no faith he'll be coming down anytime soon Rayla. He's been at it since breakfast—didn't even finish."</p><p>"<em>Is Rayla still there!"</em> Sarai shouted as another clang echoed.</p><p>"Yes!" he shouted back.</p><p>Rayla laughed and shook her head. "No worries Coach, I'm all aware of his 'zone.' He must've been inspired for his next art showcase project," she explained, "But I texted him when I arrived outside, so he'll be down soon."</p><p>Before Harrow could argue the likelihood of that happening, Sarai entered the room and rushed to hug Rayla. "Rayla! We weren't expecting to see you until tomorrow night! At Viren's party!"</p><p>Rayla embraced the older woman as she replied, "That's why I'm here actually. I needed—"</p><p>"Sorry!" Callum's voice suddenly appeared as he came rushing down the steps. His hair was a mess still—he hadn't brushed it even for breakfast—and his eyes were baggy. "I got caught up."</p><p>Harrow was amazed that someone <em>actually </em>managed to get his son out of the art zone for once. He <em>never</em> came out of it, not even with the threat of punishment for his evasion of chores on the line. But he was also amazed he greeted his friend looking like a <em>slob</em>… and she <em>didn't </em>care. She beamed, "Do ya have it?"</p><p>Callum nodded as he pulled out Rayla's letterman jacket, shaking it with excitement. "Lemony fresh."</p><p>She grinned at that. "Aww, thanks!" She then proceeded to pull off her Katolis sweater, revealing her black tank top, <em>Food, No Business,</em> and traded it with Callum. She slipped the jacket on and looked as if she melted inside it. "Ahhh, much better." She sniffed it as she hugged herself.</p><p>Harrow was tempted to argue how the sweater—which was <em>apparently </em>Callum's—was actually warmer to wear outside, but he had to ask, "What just happened?"</p><p>Rayla's face flushed once again as she realized everyone was staring at her. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Th-That was inappropriate—I just, I really wanted to wear it right away and—"</p><p>"Ray wanted her jacket so she could wear it for tomorrow's party," Callum casually explained.</p><p>A smug smirk appeared on Sarai as she inquired, "But why did you have it?"</p><p>"Oh, right, because I did her laundry here," he casually answered. Again, casually, like <em>that</em> wasn't strange.</p><p>Even his wife had no clever retort to that because that <em>clearly</em> wasn't a response one would expect. "You… did her laundry here?"</p><p>"Yeah! The campus washing machines and laundromat near campus are kinda expensive when you total it up over the months so I offered. We've been doing it for like a month now, I just do it with my load." He shrugged like it was no big deal. Then proceeded to throw on his sweater, which Rayla had just been wearing, like <em>that</em> was no big deal. "You're getting the rest Monday right?"</p><p>Rayla nodded as she turned to the door.</p><p>"<em>Wait!</em>" Sarai eagerly shouted, far too excited about the revelations brought forward. "Can-Can you not stay for a bit?"</p><p>Rayla seethed, looking apologetic. "Sorry Sarai," Harrow rolled his eyes as he felt his wife happily vibrate that she called her by her first name, "but my folks and I are FaceTiming all afternoon. Like a holiday dinner. With the time difference in Scotland I gotta hurry before it gets too late for 'em."</p><p>"Give Runaan and Ethari my wishes!" Callum waved as she moved to the door.</p><p>"I will, see ya tomorrow!" she said as she opened the door.</p><p>"See you!"</p><p>She stopped and turned, narrowing her eyes at him. "Finish your breakfast too. And bring a snack up for later. <em>Then</em> get back into your zone. Or ya're toast, aye?"</p><p>Callum saluted her as he firmly nodded. "Yes ma'am," he said with a wink.</p><p>A wink.</p><p>Harrow's son was <em>winking</em> at a girl.</p><p>She snorted and closed the door behind her.</p><p>Callum released a fond sigh as he walked passed the living room and into the dining room, picking up his unfinished plate of waffles. It was astounding. His son actually, finally managed it. He scored himself a girl and was doing right by her. He had heard from Soren during their practices that Rayla and Callum had been dancing around for a while, but it was too good to be true. Someone who finally understood him too: his quirks, his art, his passion, his humour. Rayla got all of that. And he knew her too. He covered for her to save the embarrassment and knew what scent she'd like in her clothes coming out of a dryer?</p><p>He chuckled to himself.</p><p>"Why are you laughing?" Sarai whispered, "I won the bet! Tomorrow we're cashing in the spoils."</p><p>Harrow rolled his eyes as Callum walked by, heading up the stairs with his plate of food. He couldn't help but notice he also had an apple, a snack no doubt he would be saving for later.</p><p>::::</p><p>"Look at them," Claudia swooned.</p><p>"I'm looking," Soren dryly replied as he busied himself with the plate of jelly tarts on the food table.</p><p>"Look how <em>happy</em> they are."</p><p>"They are happy indeed." Claudia smacked her brother's arm, instigating a gasp. "You almost made me drop my tarts! <em>What</em> do you want?"</p><p>"Take this seriously!" she spat out. "You're just being mopey because you guys lost the bet." She stuck her tongue out at him, and he rolled his eyes.</p><p>"Real mature—"</p><p>"Oh <em>you're</em> mature—"</p><p>"That doesn't even make sense!"</p><p>"<em>You</em> don't make sense."</p><p>"Both of you, enough," their father's voice appeared as he approached them, walking cane in hand as he dusted off his coattails. "We have guests, and making a fool of ourselves is not what I asked of you," he tiredly spoke.</p><p>Soren snorted. "Dad, you just wanted to impress Coach Harrow with your new surround system." Their father turned his attention to the balcony, choosing not to answer that, though both his children knew the answer. They watched as their father smiled at the sight out on the balcony.</p><p>Right outside, in the brisque cold, lying on a long wicker chair was none other than the couple of the hour. The two were sharing the seat, soaking up in each other's body warmth, though Rayla was shivering more on account of her stubbornly taking her letterman jacket instead of an actual winter jacket. They couldn't see their faces, or anything really except the backs of their heads, but Claudia figured they were holding hands. They couldn't hear anything either, but the cold mist emitting from their mouths each time they spoke told her they were whispering, intimately and quietly.</p><p>"It's adorable, isn't it?" Harrow addressed as he and his wife joined the conversation.</p><p>Viren chuckled. "Indeed. I'm happy for him, I figured he was a lost cause when he hopelessly crushed on Claudia," he mused as he turned away, moving toward Ezran and their cousin Gren, who were attempting to change the music to Christmas songs.</p><p>Claudia chuckled at that. "No <em>way</em>," she dismissed, "when did that happen?"</p><p>"Grade 9, when we all first met. It was only for a few months but it felt like ages," Soren casually explained before wolfing down a jelly tart.</p><p>"Nevermind that," Sarai spoke, "can we just be proud of him? I'm getting a daughter!"</p><p>Claudia gasped. "And what am I to you?"</p><p>"Ehh, a packaged deal," Sarai joked. The group laughed.</p><p>It was just perfect. None of them could care less about how Christmas went because <em>this</em> was the biggest anticipated highlight of the evening. Ever since the two met and everyone learned about their interactions, synergies, shared interests—they waited with baited breath after realizing prompting them together meant pushing an immovable object in line of an unstoppable force. But, the fact that they did it all on their own? His son finally found his love.</p><p>"Who do you think made the first move?" Soren said through his mouthful.</p><p>"Callum," his parents answered together, confidently.</p><p>Claudia shrugged, seeming more skeptical. "I dunno, seeing how Rayla acts about him, I feel like it was her."</p><p>Soren grinned, "Wanna wager again?"</p><p>Before any of them could pool in on that, they watched as the two rose from their seat, stretching in their place before reentering the building. Sarai instantly shushed everyone and pointed at the. Rayla was wearing Callum's red scarf. The one he <em>never</em> took off even during the summer. Soren had to physically stop Claudia from vibrating with excitement on the spot as Callum approached them while Rayla made her way over to Amaya and Viren. They shot happy smiles as Callum walked over with a sheepish look.</p><p>"Hey guys, sorry 'bout this, but Rayla's kinda feeling drained so she's gonna head home." He shrugged, seeming to make no fuss of it. "I'm gonna walk her back to campus. I'll probably crash at the dorms too."</p><p>"Hers or yours," Soren coughed, though was quickly met with an elbow from Claudia.</p><p>Harrow decided to take the initiative. "That's fine son. You take good care of her." He turned to Rayla and watched as she walked by, waving at the group and bidding quick farewells and holiday greetings before heading out to the foyer. Once she was out of the room, Harrow stepped forward and placed his hand on his son's shoulder, startling him with his stern face. "Callum… I'm proud you finally took action."</p><p>He stared at him, confused as he laughed. "Of course Dad! What kind of best friend would I be if I let her walk home alone right?" He gave his father a quick hug then kissed his mother on the cheek before making his way out of the room shouting a goodbye to a passed out Ezran on the sofa.</p><p>The group watched the two in the foyer, laughing as Callum wrapped his scarf more firmly around Rayla, whispering something that elicited a louder laugh from her. She gave him a playful punch to the shoulder before following him out the door, taking their joy and laughter with them.</p><p>"Did… did I hear that right…?" Harrow asked aloud.</p><p>"That he said he was her best friend?" Soren said.</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>"Yup," Soren confirmed.</p><p>"They… they could still be best friends and dating!" Sarai weakly offered.</p><p>Claudia sighed, shaking her head. "<em>No</em>… it was too good to be true… those two idiots are still just friends."</p><p>Harrow palmed at his face as he groaned in disappointment. It <em>was</em> too good to be true.</p><p>Soren chuckled. "Does this mean Coach and I get our money back?"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: In case it wasn't clear? No. They are STILL not dating. </p><p>Until next time,</p><p>- Bleh</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. 3rd Day of Rayllum</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Rayla is a hitwoman on her first mission, and Callum is just an innocent boi. Hitman AU. Suggested by DelicateDragons on Ao3.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A/N: Terribly sorry for the delay all! But exams are finally done so I can get on track with this!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Drenched Plans</strong>
</p><p>"And there's ya new laminated, <em>custom</em> ID!" Nyx excitedly announced as she pushed the card forward. Rayla eagerly rushed up to the desk and watched as her new custom identification shimmered in the light of the room's fluorescents. "Congrats, Rayla, you are now officially a Hitwoman of the Moonshadow Agency."</p><p>Her jaw dropped at the sight.</p><p>
  <em>Rayla</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Codename: MoonHeart</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Level 2 Hunter</em>
</p><p>She practically bounced in her place, shaking the card in her hands as she squealed. Nyx cleared her throat, erupting her moment as she whispered, "Uhh, might wanna reel it in." She nodded behind her.</p><p>Rayla slowly turned around and found not only <em>every</em> agent in the lobby staring at her, but her bloody mentor of all people at the elevator looking at her in disappointment. She mentally slapped her face as she stronger herself out and calmly and confidently walked over to Runaan. She was <em>barely</em> into her first day and she already messed it up. Runaan didn't even meet her eyes as he waited for her to arrive. "Runaan I—"</p><p>"Save it," he dismissed, "follow me." He stepped into the elevator.</p><p>And she obeyed.</p><p>He pressed the top floor and Rayla felt chills grave down her spine. They were going to see the boss? Had she already messed up <em>that badly</em>? After the doors closed and the elevator music filled the silence, Runaan finally spoke. "I am proud of ya, ya know that right?"</p><p>She… was not expecting that. "Aye, Sir."</p><p>"Then understand that I'm gonna have to be harder on ya now. Because your license is a controversial topic in this agency now," he nonchalantly informed her.</p><p>Rayla's eyes widened. "What?"</p><p>"Many feel, even given with your training and exceptional skill, promotin' ya to Level 2 was too soon," he explained, regret laced within his voice, "Especially considerin' how ya've never taken before." She froze at that. "Many are callin' my judgment askew and that is why I ask ya <em>maintain </em>professionalism at all times. Do not give them a reason to doubt ya Rayla."</p><p>She nodded as she straightened her back more. "Aye."</p><p>The silence returned, and Rayla noticed they were only halfway there. "So… why don't ya demote me then? Ya have the credentials and I don't mind working up to Level 2."</p><p>Her mentor sighed. "Doing so would only confirm the worst of the rumours and make my credibility as a teacher a failure. Besides, I wouldn't have promoted ya if I don't think ya couldn't do it." He turned and smiled at her. "Ya have to believe in yourself, prove that ya can do it not only to ya, but also," the doors chimed opened and Runaan turned, "to our boss."</p><p>Rayla gulped. "<em>What</em>!" She followed after Runaan as he walked down the long, dimly lit hallway. "Runaan, I can't face the boss like—"</p><p>"Rayla!" She winced at the call and sighed. She looked on ahead and sure enough, the Star's personal Watchers: her parents. They stood outside the door, armed in full bulletproof armour, helmets, and night vision goggles. Goggles, of which, her mom instantly removed to wave excitedly and blow a kiss. "Proud of ya sweetheart! Or should I say, <em>MoonHeart</em>!" She winked. "Ya like it? The name was my idea, I pitched it in the system."</p><p>"Nevermind that, Tia dear," her father laughed, "Show us Ray! Show us the card!"</p><p>She reluctantly dug into her pocket but thankfully, Runaan spoke up. "Tiadrin, Lain, that can wait. Aavaros awaits us." Rayla blew a sigh of relief as her parents straightened up.</p><p>"'Course Sir," Lain nodded as Tiadrin tucker her goggles back on.</p><p>The two turned around and flicked out their pocket knifes, inserting them into the slots either side of the door before twisting and unlocking it. It cracked open, and the two pushed it the rest of the way, heads low as Runaan led Rayla inside.</p><p>Contrastingly his hallway, Aavaros' office was pastel blue. It was bright and cool-warm coloured, it was neat and tidy. But the man himself? He say at his excessively large galaxy coloured chair and smiled as Runaan approached the centre of the room. "Ahh," his velvety voice began, "Agent Twilight, is this your star pupil?"</p><p>He nodded as he stepped to the side, displaying Rayla <em>way</em> more than she would've liked. She glanced down and felt self-conscious of her outfit all of sudden. It wasn't too different from the standard uniform. She had navy green slacks and vest with a white dress shirt underneath which she rolled up to her elbows. But now she was regretting not wearing a coat, or rolling down her sleeves, or tucking in her collar—why didn't Runaan say anything about his popped collar? Surely Aavaros had a uniform in place strictly so his employees would <em>follow </em>it.</p><p>But he smiled. "Impressive. She's younger than you were, is she not?"</p><p>Runaan proudly nodded. "Yes Sir."</p><p>"Is that why you saw fit to promote her two ranks after her graduation?" the smugness layered with an accusatory tone made Runaan sigh.</p><p>"Sir, she scored the highest on every test for the applications and I've been training her—"</p><p>"The highest in long range accuracy was 83% Runaan. That's the lowest accuracy we've ever had from a graduating class and if that is all your prized pupil has to offer?" Aavaros' dipped into disappointment as he shook his head and clicked his teeth, "Then I'm afraid I hardly see the issue within MoonHeart, but rather you as a teacher, whose duty is to train the next generation! Their terrible scores are a result of your negligence and favouritism! All you have to show for you 'dedicated' teaching is a Hitwoman who excels in CQC and parkour? <em>Pathetic</em>," he venomously spat.</p><p>Runaan's frame winced at every word, his head hanging low.</p><p>"Make no mistake, my dear Agent MoonHeart, I mean no disrespect to you," Aavaros gently clarified as he rose from his chair. "I am a firm believer that the fault of a students capabilities is the result of a poor teacher."</p><p>Rayla gasped. Was he gonna fire him? "W-Wait, Runnan's great—"</p><p>"<em>Was</em>, my dear, he <em>was</em> a great teacher," he corrected. "And I'm afraid if you are all he has to show for his evaluation for a test as of now? Then there is only one thing left to do." He walked in front of his desk, back turned to the two.</p><p>Runaan's face was sweating. Rayla didn't know what to think of that. <em>He</em> was her example of determination and casting aside emotions, <em>he </em>taughther everything she knew on how to be stone cold serious. And he was sweating like a rainfall. She wasn't even sure what her face looked like right now but she doubt it had any composure. He stepped aside as a TV screen appeared from his desk, turning on.</p><p>"The job is to take out the step-son and heir to the one and only <em>Katolis Enterprises</em>," a boy's face flickered onto the screen, he had messy chestnut brown hair and grassy green eyes of innocence, "you have until the end of the week to kill him." Rayla froze as she watched Aavaros lift his wrist and stare at his watch. "And I do believe your timer has begun, Agent MoonHeart."</p><p>Rayla glanced down to her watch, three days.</p><p>She had three days?</p><p>Aavaros turned and made his way back into his chair as he announced, "Nyx will provide everything we have on his current location at the lobby. Good luck on your first mission, Agent MoonHeart." As he settled in, folding his fingers together, he smirked at Runaan. "Now let us see what your pupil is capable of, Agent Twilight."</p><p>Rayla barely even heard the rest of the deal before she rushed out the room and to the elevator. Her first mission, and her job was already on the line. Lucky her…</p><p>::::</p><p>This sucked.</p><p>The target was staying at the resort for<em> exactly </em>three days from Wednesday to Christmas Day, it was all she had. The very vague intel her file revealed was that his father had him here for safety reasons, in essence a safe house but not really on the account of the numerous guests and party events. But the real issue? He was guarded 24/7 and always on the move. She followed him around, posing as a guest as she analyzed his first day's routine. And while he did have a hearty breakfast at the complimentary buffet, he was also shadowed by his two security guards over his shoulders. The rest of his day transferred with him laying by the pool.</p><p>She quickly consulted her inventory: a silenced pistol in her tucked behind her back and hidden with her vest, a couple of pocket knives in her slacks, and a few magazines tucked into her vest's hidden pockets. Since she was a newly enlisted agent, her access to the armoury was limited. If she wanted better gear she would have to complete more missions and earn credits for her to spend on tweaking her loadout, but in order to do that she had to finish this one.</p><p>Which was impossible without better gear.</p><p>Closed loops were fun.</p><p>She internally sighed as she pressed herself up against a wall, scanning the surrounding scenery. The pool wasn't too vacant, but there weren't enough people to crowd around and cover her approach—she would be wide open. She surveyed the scenery more, trying to find her path of approach, her fastest route to and from him. The complications of their work as hitmen were not exactly hiding their identity, but maintaining the illusion of having an identity. They were ghosts and had to remain so, but it also meant impersonation and undercover work was part of the job.</p><p>Rayla's gaze turned to the lady's washroom. If she could incapacitate and take another guest's outfit, she could approach like any other guest and if her attempt failed, she had an identity to fall back on. She frowned at the thought, watching as her target sat up from his lounge chair and said something to his guards, who nodded in response. Panic filled within her: she needed to kill him as quickly as possible. Worrying and overthinking was a problem she would worry about after—she could handle the guards. She was skilled enough to take them out before they even drew their guns, screw the crowd reaction, she would just walk by him and slit his throat at the last minute.</p><p>She took a deep breath and left her hiding spot as she walked over. Calm, reserved, like Runaan taught her. Hiding her intent with casualness, with a blanket of humanity, appearing regular. She stuffed her hands into her pockets, feeling her switchblades in each palm, calculating the possible outcomes. If her first strike missed, she needed to be prepared for the follow up, and if that missed she would need to focus on the guards. If it at all got dicey, she still had her silenced glock tucked behind her.</p><p>Rayla smiled as she slowly began approaching. She could do this. Eyes on her target, she observed him as he started <em>taking off his shirt and pants</em>? Rayla's face flushed as her target's slim body revealed itself in his aqua colour board shorts. <em>Focus</em>, she calmed herself<em>, focus focus focus focus focus</em>, her suddenly new mantra repeated through her head as she neared him. Just a few more steps and—</p><p>"Cannonball!" he shouted, hopping from his spot and straight into the pool, creating a massive splash that sent water everywhere. Rayla yelped as she stumbled out of the splash zone, nearly tripping over herself in the process. She turned and watched the guards as they were drenched but remained stoic and unmoved. "Sorry about that!" she heard her target shout.</p><p>She turned back and he was <em>staring</em> at her. She already failed on every possible level. Rayla contemplated the chances of her being able to whip out her gun and shoot him in the head before either the guards caught on or he swam away. She grimaced at the thought, knowing a better tactic would be to pursue him in the pool, appearing as though she were going for a swim and concealing her knife in the process. There were several ideas, actually, that were helpful here because he was in the water and his movements were slowed. <em>But</em>…</p><p>He wasn't in just <em>any</em> water.</p><p>He was in the deep end.</p><p>"Uhhh, you okay?" she blinked out of her thoughts and noticed his grassy green eyes stared at her with concern.</p><p>She nodded as she wordlessy walked off, retreating to her own room at the resort to collect herself. It was too soon to kill him anyway. That was what she told herself.</p><p>::::</p><p>Her second attempt seemed the most promising.</p><p>At least, on paper.</p><p>It was day two and her target had holed mostly in his suite for the remainder of yesterday, with his guards constantly watching his door. At first, Rayla registered sneaking into his room as a no go after that. While she could take out the guards and rush into his room, the mess might cause an uproar, and she wasn't certain that he didn't have another bodyguard inside. She lacked that critical thinking yesterday. If she did manage to pull off her attempt, it would've been absurd if she got away. But most notably, Aavaros was evaluating the outcomes too. There was <em>no</em> <em>way</em> killing him in three days was the done deal: she had to impress him.</p><p>But like berated her for, her only skills were CQC and parkour, she was hardly decent with firearms, especially at long ranges. But she realized two things when she was walking around the resort grounds. First off, the guards never entered the room. If she managed to get in, she could kill him without them realizing. And second, scaling it would be easy. The back of the resort led off to a cliff face that hung above the ocean. The ledges from balconies to each floor were fairly simple to reach. Her skills in free running guaranteed she could ascend into his balcony, sneak in, then kill him.</p><p>It was genius.</p><p>She waited for nightfall then made her move. She hopped from balcony to balcony, mindfully watching out for rooms that had lights on and carefully gripping onto ledges instead of pipes in fear of them giving out. After hefting herself up to what she mentally counted as the seventh floor, Rayla glanced up to the top. He was at the twentieth, the last one. She barely even broke a sweat this point, and she was riveting with confidence. She could do this.</p><p>"I'm gonna show ya," she quietly muttered to herself, "I'm gonna show ya. I," she hopped to the eighth balcony, "am," pulled herself up, "a Hitwoman!" she exclaimed as she pulled her legs up. They banged on the ledge of the balcony, not making much noise, but definitely stinging her left kneecap. She winced as she rubbed it, ignoring the small pain.</p><p>That was what did it.</p><p>Rayla was so proficient in parkour she could actually scale buildings in her sleep. It was all thanks to her early mindset from a young age: don't look down. She still did from time to time, only when necessary of course, but had no problem for when she looked. It was only ground. If she fell, then she fell and it was splat. No big deal. But when she turned around to ready herself for another leap, positioning herself on the balcony ledge, she looked down and noticed—it was definitelynot ground, but <em>water</em>. She froze at the sight of the aggressive tides abusing the bottom of the cliff's rocks, and realized she was on a ledge. She hurriedly hopped down and sighed.</p><p>"I'm not being irrational," she assured herself, "The higher I get, the more likely that water's gonna be something' I fall in." She peaked over the edge and gulped at the freezing ocean.</p><p>She climbed back down after a minute, this time <em>much</em> slower than her scaling. She wasn't particularly fond of having to look down as she did so too. Sure, on paper the idea was sound and made sense. And yes, she was good at free running. But the thought of landing in the water terrified her more than the impact of the ground.</p><p>Rayla smacked her head several times that night before heading back to the drawing board. She washed had an entire day… and she only had one shot left.</p><p>::::</p><p>Her target was apparently attending a party near the resort, and his attendance was a seeing off party of sorts mixed with a Christmas celebration. She hadn't gotten all the details, just enough from the pamphlet invites and rumours of resort staff—who apparently have the juiciest gossip. She was too busy rethinking her last attempt. All she knew was that she had to go to follow him to the party. She had the same outfit as day one, outfitted with the same arsenal. She had to take every precaution going forward because she had no idea what to expect. Apparently the event was a somewhat reserved affair, and those who signed up for attendance were only allowed in. Though she had managed to make it into time she still had no clue what the setting would be like for this party. But she couldn't afford excuses not anymore.</p><p>And of course, the party was on a damn yacht…</p><p>Rayla wasn't even sure why a <em>yacht</em> was the preferred venue for a party at a <em>resort</em>. She couldn't linger on that thought any longer as she took a deep breath and sighed. Hopefully the boat wasn't going ashore or anything. She looked around and noticed several rope stanchions blocking off hallways and doorways, leading the partygoers to the deck, which most likely meant that they were limiting the size of the party. That threw out any plans of slipping around utilizing the small corridors and halls to her advantage. It was just one thing after another.</p><p>Five minutes had passed since she arrived and she had yet to run into her target. The music was booming loud enough that a well placed silenced gunshot would be drowned out, the tightness and grouping of everyone dancing and standing by the food tables would allow a drive-by-stab with ease, and even the food itself: vacant with barely any staff, she could set up some sort of trap with it—maybe not poison, since she had none— but an incident that resulted in food everywhere and caused a distraction. Point was, she had plans in motion but her target <em>wasn't</em> here.</p><p>She checked her wristwatch, now seven minutes, and worry crept in her. Maybe… maybe he left the resort early? She decided to make her way casually over to the exit in hopes of seeing him arrive, but also because she might have needed to make a quick exit on the account of him being a no show. She really hoped that wasn't the case—</p><p>A loud horn sounded off, startling Rayla and nearly causing her to draw her gun. She took a deep breath as she held her heart, it was beating fast. She was far too nervous. Then the realization clicked…</p><p>The yacht was leaving.</p><p>She was about to be stranded in the middle of the ocean. Screwing patience, she rushed through the crowd and down the deck, making her way over to the exit as fast as possible. She managed to make it in the hallway leading to the boarding ramp and sure enough, she ran right into her target, <em>literally</em>. Colliding head first, she fell atop him, breaking her fall with his body.</p><p>"Ouuuch," she heard him wince as she blinked her eyes open, "Was that payback for the pool?"</p><p>She froze. His eyes weren't grassy green. They actually looked emerald green.</p><p>She shook herself physically and mentally.</p><p>Why did she think that?</p><p>"Umm, you okay?" he asked.</p><p>She frowned. "I crashed into ya and ya're asking <em>me</em> if I'm okay?" She chuckled at that.</p><p>He laughed. "I'm fine too if you were wondering." He smiled and… he was, like, <em>looking</em> into her eyes. Rayla didn't know what to do. Should she stab him? She felt like she could get it over with. Who cared if the boat was filled with partygoers and about to strand her in the water? "Umm, can you—"</p><p>"<em>Ma'am</em>," a voice spoke up and Rayla glanced up to find his two security guards rushing at her. She instantly shot up, hands in the air and instincts creaming to react. "Step back!" he shouted at her, cleary motioning his hand into his jacket, ready to draw if need be.</p><p>The other helped up her target, checking him over as he brushed off his hands. "Stop, Corvus, stop, I'm good! It's fine, Soren, relax, we just bumped into each other, no big deal," he assured assured as he stepped in front of his other guard.</p><p>So his guards made it too.</p><p>He turned and sheepishly shrugged, "Sorry about them. My uh, father is particular about protection and—"</p><p>"A-Aye, don't worry 'bout it," she dismissed, smiling at him. Genuinely, much to her surprise. She was prepared to fake it but found it slipping so casually.</p><p>He stuck out his hand, "I'm Callum."</p><p>She watched his open palm. She could yank him forward and use him as a human shield, drawing her gun and popping "Soren" and "Corvus" before they could get a clear shot. She shook her head. "I know—I-I mean I'm Rayla!" she accepted the hand and shook it.</p><p>His hand was very warm, soft.</p><p>Why did she say her real name?</p><p>Was she shaking his hand for too long?</p><p>Their shake eventually departed as he flashed his grin once more. "So, um, what brings you to the <em>Nexus Resort</em>?" he asked.</p><p>It was a simple question but it made her nearly forget her cover story. "U-Uh, Holiday. I'm just stayin' for a week. It's about to end tomorrow actually."</p><p>His brows raised in interest. "Really? Same here! You flying in from Scotland or—"</p><p>"Err, no," yes, that was her cover story, "I-I mean, I <em>am</em> from Scotland, but I live in America." What. Was. She. Saying.</p><p>He chuckled, "Well, good to know."</p><p>"Callum," Corvus spoke up, "the party's already began, I think it'd best if you make an appearance?"</p><p>He rolled his eyes. "C'mon Cor, don't be a stick in the mud. Just because my <em>step-dad</em> wanted me to go doesn't mean anything," he replied, "Tell the party people I'll show up later!"</p><p>Corvus sighed. "Sir—"</p><p>Callum shot Soren a look that she read as, <em>Throw me a bone</em>, and the guard side. "How about <em>I</em> go? Cor, stay here." The dirty blond walked off, looking regretful but she didn't sense him giving her any stares.</p><p>"Cor, can you just…" he motioned the man to step back, "loose follow? I-I wanna show her around."</p><p>Corvus frowned at that.</p><p>"Show me around?" Rayla prompted. He was purposefully isolating himself with her. This was her chance to kis—<em>kill</em> him. To kill him and find a way off the death boat surfing death water and go home.</p><p>"Yeah, this is our family yacht and this whole party is sort of my step-dad's tradition for Christmas but he couldn't make it again," he frowned, "not a big shocker but he also ended up in a work emergency—"</p><p>"Callum," Corvus spoke up, "we're not to disclose company info—"</p><p>"Relax, I wasn't going to say anything," he muttered. A mischievous grin appeared as he said, "<em>But</em>, if I were to say something, you can't exactly <em>stop</em> me can you?" Corvus stared at him in shock. "Maybe if I dunno. You—"</p><p>He sighed as turned and walked down the hall. "Don't stray far," he grumbled.</p><p>"I just wanna show her the entertainment room!" Callum shouted as he grabbed her hand and pulled her along, slipping past the stanchion ropes.</p><p>Rayla giggled—<em>the heck</em>—as she held on. His grip secured her to follow, but it still felt warm and soft. "Ya often dodge your bodyguards like that?"</p><p>He turned and smiled at her as their pace slowed. "Only when it's for stuff I care about."</p><p>Her brain broke at that…</p><p>This was <em>flirting</em>.</p><p>Her target was flirting with her.</p><p>She was beginning to feel light headed.</p><p>As he opened the door, he announced, "Behold! Our entertainment roo—aahh!" she shoved him inside and closed the door behind her. As he tumbled to the centre of the floor, she whipped out her glock and cocked it, aiming it right at his head. He rose up, muttering, "Is this a thing with you or," and his eyes meet the barrel, "oh."</p><p>She gulped. "Shuttup."</p><p>He held up his hands, letting his leg drop and his body on his knees. "Okay… um, Rayla—if that's your real name—you don't have to do this."</p><p>She nodded. "I do, I-I have to," she told herself, "I <em>will</em>." Her finger on the trigger and barrel down his face, his emerald green eyes of innocence and hurt pout. This was her <em>best</em> chance. No one would know until it was too late! But instead? She was hesitating and hesitating and hesitating. Her hand was shaking now..</p><p>"You… you've never done this… have you," it wasn't a question, but it came out like pity.</p><p>She steeled herself for one shake of her gun, threatening him as she shouted, "Like ya have?" He flinched, and it worked, but she still felt sick.</p><p>He chuckled. He was <em>chuckling </em>at a girl holding a gun to his head. "No of course not! I just… I think this means you <em>really</em> don't have to do this. You're like, my age."</p><p>"A year older."</p><p><em>Why</em> was she still sharing!</p><p>"Exactly."</p><p>"No," she shook her head, "I… I…" taking a deep breath, it all clicked. She dropped her gun as she turned and headed toward the window, shoving it open and hurling out her lunch into the sea. Her legs felt numb, her mouth felt <em>disgusting</em>, and her stomach was begging to be killed—her entire body hated this.</p><p>She heard Callum laugh as he approached her, holding back her hair as she continued to retch out the entertainment room window for about six minutes.</p><p>The two found themselves seated at the couch. Her gun tucked away, him on the other end, and she had a trash bin at her feet. They sat there for at least five minutes, before she bit the bullet. "What kinda person holds back the hair of someone vomitin' after they <em>just</em> tried to kill 'em?"</p><p>He snorted. "I dunno. What kinda assassin drops her gun as she's about to kill someone just to vomit?"</p><p>She laughed. "Not an assassin. I'm a hitwoman."</p><p>"It's an occupation where you kill people, same thing," he dismissed.</p><p>"Smartass," she shot back.</p><p>"If I really was, I would've bolted and called my guards."</p><p>"So why didn't ya?"</p><p>"Why didn't you kill me?"</p><p>She stared at him, frustration building as she sighed. "What kinda—do ya <em>have</em> a death wish?"</p><p>"No, but it doesn't look like <em>you</em> have a kill wish."</p><p>"Ohh I wish ya just shut—" she groaned, another wave of barfing was inbound. She began her waves (heh) of vomit, she heard Callum shuffle over and hold back her hair once again.</p><p>"You could <em>literally</em> shut me up yourself with that gun of yours." She tensed at that. Her bending over and him holding her hair, he could see it. She was exposed and open and going back on <em>everything</em> Runaan taught her. "Or maybe a knife, I'm assuming you have some, when you crashed into me your chest felt hard—" his face flushed, "not like <em>that</em> or anything, but I-I mean—"</p><p>She rolled her eyes then released her last ounce of vomit into the bin. She took a deep breath, resting her head against the couch as she closed her eyes. Screw her teaching, screw the mission, she just needed a minute. She failed on every possible level but also was suffering under the <em>worst</em> types of Hell with all this damn water. It was as if Poseidon decided to tip the Fates and demand only water be her hindrance this trip. She was pathetic.</p><p>"L-Listen, I don't know if this'll make you stab or shoot me—by the way, if you kill me, please be bullet, quick and painless—but yeah, I… I don't wanna pretend to know your life," he softly spoke, "and I'm assuming you know a bit of mine from like, a contract file or whatever—"</p><p>She knew nothing. She didn't even understand why the job was to kill this sweet cinnamon roll and not his step-father. She didn't get it.</p><p>"—but, I can tell you're not up for this. Whatever any of this is, you don't seem like a killer to me Rayla."</p><p>"I'm carrying four magazines of 9mm rounds and six switchblade knives."</p><p>"Okay you're a <em>badass</em>, but I don't think you're a killer."</p><p>She sighed. "Ru… my mentor, he always told me the first was the hardest," she dug into her pocket and pulled out her knife, flicking the blade exposed as she stared hard at the steel. "But… he was talking about <em>after</em>. He never said anythin' about before…"</p><p>Callum's phone buzzed. He pulled it out and sighed. "I…I'm sorry. They're looking for me, I gotta go." She wasn't even going to bother asking why he wasn't selling her out. She was exhausted. "Just stay here and… you'll be unbothered the whole party. O-Or if you want to leave, there's a small lifeboat near the back, you can follow the signs to the boiler room and when it leads you to the room you can just look around down below and you'll find it." He walked up and over to the door, but paused as he opened it. "And if you<em> do</em> make up your mind about killing me?" he smirked at her, "at least bump into me again so I get to see your face one last time." He flashed a wink and closed the door behind him.</p><p>Rayla's face felt hot once again, but this time she knew it wasn't because of sea sickness.</p><p>So yeah, she failed her first big mission</p><p>Her plans literally washed away at every turn. Maybe it was some big sign. Or maybe it wasn't. She returned to headquarters with a demotion and smug Aavaros, addressing that he had seen this coming and hadn't really expected her to do anything. Regardless, she picked up on that eerie feeling with whatever confusion she had, she had to sort it out <em>soon</em>.</p><p>News headline: <em>CEO of</em> <em>Katolis Enterprise Murdered</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: So as far world building goes, Hitman games plus John Wick? Okay? Okay. Once again sorry about the delay everyone! Next one will be at very late today as well! </p><p> </p><p>Until next time, </p><p>- Bleh</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. 4th Day of Rayllum</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Callum's had a lot of difficult clients before, but none were as bad as Rayla McCloud. Tattoo Parlour AU.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Stalling Words</strong>
</p><p>Callum was used to getting cancellations. With his line of work, it was to be expected. Owning a tattoo shop near the middle of the suburbs was the prime real estate for driving in customers who might've wanted to spruce up their lives. But whenever he received emails for appointments late in the evening or in the middle of the night, he assumed a sober customer was responding the next day to cancel. Those who did know what they wanted however? They did their research. They set up consultations, some even in person, and they have references or examples or notes—it's all thought out.</p><p>Sure, he would get the occasional, "It was just a spur of the moment!" kind of person, and he would end up having to help them brainstorm an idea. But even then, those types still weren't so bad, least not all the time. He hated walk-in appointments, that was for <em>certain</em>. He had regulars, difficult customers who were <em>specific</em> and difficult customers who weren't specific enough. Needless to say, he had seen just about everything he had come to expect from owning a tattoo parlour.</p><p>Until he met his latest client, Rayla McCloud.</p><p>They scheduled for a consultation at 11:30 in the morning, which told Callum this was either going to be difficult drawing because they needed most of the afternoon to explain, or it would be a quick meeting as they had many errands to take care of. He liked forming speculations like these, it made him feel invested in his clients.</p><p>And then she walked in, right on the dot. A young woman who looked about his age, his height, with medium length white and black faded hair, and purple mascara. She hugged her variety jacket tight as she scanned the shop, looking as if she walked into a dentist. He chuckled—wouldn't have been the first time he'd seen that look before.</p><p>He stood up from the counter and waved. "Hiya!" She nearly jumped at this voice.</p><p>"O-Oh, hi," she shyly waved back.</p><p>So it was gonna be another one of <em>those</em> customers. He kept his polite smile up as he asked, "Rayla, right? Rayla McCloud?"</p><p>She nodded.</p><p>Callum grinned happily at that, "Perfect! Right on time! Now, we can have our consultation in my office if you don't mind." He moved out of his chair and motioned to the back of the shop. "Did you have an references or anything in mind you wanted to go off of first or—"</p><p>"I-I'm sorry," she suddenly spoke.</p><p>He stopped and turned, confused. "I beg your pardon?"</p><p>She shook her head as she slowly backed away. "I-I can't. I changed my mind!" And then she bolted out of his shop.</p><p>Callum stared in bewilderment for the next few minutes before deciding to call his next appointment and letting him know he was now suddenly available.</p><p>That was new.</p><p>::::</p><p>Weirdly enough, Thursdays were his busiest booked days. Every appointment, consultation, even walk-ins, decided Thursday was the opportune moment for them to get a tattoo. Callum wasn't complaining, of course, he loved the business! But he still didn't get why Thursdays of all days. He had just finished up his lunch break and he heard the door chime. He internally groaned as he realized Claudia was at the counter and that meant—</p><p>"Welcome to <em>Inked</em>, where we take what you're inking and make it a reality!"</p><p>Callum stuck his head out of his office and shouted, "I told you, <em>not</em> our slogan!"</p><p>Claudia stuck her tongue out at him. "It's catchy and clever."</p><p>"I will fire you if you say it one more time," he joked, staring at her with a smile.</p><p>"I dunno, I think it's clever," his head perked at the familiar voice behind Claudia's head. And, sure enough, Rayla McCloud was stood right at the counter, this time a whole foot away from her last spot.</p><p>He smiled at her. "Well I'll be, Miss McCloud!" he stepped out of his office and waved, "I was surprised to see your name pop again in my appointments, especially from our last meeting nearly a month ago."</p><p>She let out a nervous chuckle. "Aye. My bad. Sorry 'bout that," she hurriedly said, "I was just, it wasn't a good idea—I mean, I wasn't feeling a wee bit sick an-and I, well, I had errands. To do. As well." She stood stiff still as she shut her mouth.</p><p>Callum held back his laughter, deciding to spare the poor woman from any more embarrassment. "Well," he stepped to the side and gestured into his office, "shall we begin this time?"</p><p>She took a step. One <em>whole</em> step. Then rushed out the door.</p><p>"See if you had a catchier catchphrase, she might've stayed," Claudia loudly whispered.</p><p>Callum rolled his eyes and went on with his day, with a now free afternoon slot.</p><p>He later received an email with a four paragraph apology that, in summary, was, "My cousin's pet labrador got sick and died, and no one was around to help bury it."</p><p>::::</p><p>The third time she showed up in his emails, he reluctantly accepted. Winter was a slow time for his business sometimes. Claudia was still in college and so her winter season was more exams on art theory, rather than examining a client's strange birthmark that they wished to use <em>in</em> their tattoo (it actually came out really well). Essentially, he had to take a lighter load and the only consistent business he would usually get were regulars or customers purchasing discount deals for gifts for their loved ones.</p><p>So yeah, he accepted.</p><p>But this time, he was eating his second helping of lunch. He had his favourite fantasy comic book, <em>Xadian Adventures</em>, in his lap behind the counter as he ate his burger and fries he got from the McDonald's down the street. Sure, maybe he would get a walk-in at this time but they were rare during the winter and he could probably reason with them to wait. He had finished the burger and was sipping on the last ounces of his diet coke when he heard the door chime open, and the Scottish lass had appeared.</p><p>He spat out his drink into his bag of half finished fries.</p><p>As he tried to work through his coughing fit, attempting to word out an apology between his air gasps, she crossed her arms across her chest and pouted. "Yeah yeah, I know, ya didn't expect me to show," she said with an irritated tone.</p><p>He frantically waved his hand as he shook his head. "No, no, no, I-I mean, <em>yes</em>—wait no, but I—" he cleared his throat and took a breath. "Sorry, I-I'm not making fun of you." He quickly put away his comic book and put aside his meal. "This is on me, I'm sorry," he admitted.</p><p>She sighed. "It's… it's okay." She awkwardly kept her gaze away as she kicked some snow off her boot.</p><p>The silence continued for at least a minute.</p><p>Callum would've offered to begin the consultation again, but his experience told her the second he asked she would bolt faster than lighting. Maybe he needed a different approach? "I um, I'm sorry about your cousin's dog," he tried.</p><p>She blinked, and as if realization struck and a wave of red flushed her face as she now seemed <em>fixated</em> on looking anywhere but at him. Great, so that <em>was</em> a random excuse. Claudia managed to convince him it was a legitimate thing for a while there. "Right… the dog… which was real. Ob-Obviously I'm sayin' <em>was</em>, because like, he was real once. For a time. But now… isn't…"</p><p>He nodded. So she was sticking with it, huh? She must have been really embarrassed. "Uhh what breed was it?" he inquired, throwing a small smirk her way.</p><p>She froze. "Umm, a golden retriever?" she tried, and it was then Callum let his smug smirk take full affect— even <em>she</em> realized she was caught. Rayla let out a sigh. "I said somethin' different in the email."</p><p>"Labrador."</p><p>She furrowed a brow, "Ya still remember it?"</p><p>"<em>Yuuup</em>," he nodded. "Claudia and I were going over the plausibility of the story. She was convinced. Or, maybe she was acting convinced to make me doubt myself?" he pondered aloud, realizing that was <em>exactly</em> something Claudia would do. "Either way, it was a memorable email," he smiled. His face dropped for a moment unsure if he had offended her.</p><p>He really had no idea what would set her off.</p><p>She still looked hesitant, her arms crossed once again as she gripped into her forearms like it was her life support. Was that where she wanted it? Was she worried it would hurt? Or maybe she had a fear of needles? He had customers like those too, but they usually came in with friends or family to help them get through it.</p><p>"I-If you want, you're allowed to bring a friend or family member or whatever," he suggested.</p><p>Her eyes finally met his, but they were laced with confusion and shock. "Pardon?"</p><p>"I mean like, if you're nervous or need help getting talked down, I don't mind clients having partners or friends sit with them," he explained.</p><p>Rayla stared at him. He could not, for the life of him, read her face at all. It was like fear, anxiety, confusion, and curiosity had a baby and made it her expression at that very moment. But, if there was one thing to be proud of, it was that he deduced what all those conflicting emotions meant.</p><p>"You're gonna walk out aren't you—"</p><p>"I'm just gonna go—" she mumbled out at the same time, pulled the door open as she walked out into the breezy cusp of evening.</p><p>At least he knew <em>one </em>thing she would do.</p><p>::::</p><p>Slow days happened every now and then. Maybe someone cancelled, or an appointment was delayed due to traffic—it happened. Claudia usually took up the counter on days like these because she wanted to use her catchphrase at any chance she could. He didn't mind because at least she was willingly working the register, but he made sure to chime in and declare that it wasn't their motto. It still didn't stop her from trying.</p><p>And speaking of not stopping (or trying)...</p><p>"Welcome to <em>Inked</em>, where we oh!" Claudia stopped mid sentence. "Hey Cal, it's for <em>you</em>," she said in sing song.</p><p>He stepped out of his office and there she was.</p><p>Rayla McCloud.</p><p>"Hi," she waved. "I um, do—can ya take a walk-in right now?"</p><p>He rolled his eyes. This was a waste of his time. "Can you?" he shot back.</p><p>She sighed. "I'd like to meet in your office."</p><p>He blinked at that. He looked to Claudia, who shrugged, just as surprised as him. The look on her face was pleading, at least he hoped it was. He couldn't read her at all. But still, "C'mon in," he nodded to her to follow as he moved back to his desk and sat down. His desk was a clutter, but at this point, he gathered nothing formal was happening with this client anytime soon.</p><p>As soon as she walked, she closed the door behind her, taking the seat with a newfound confidence—no, <em>assurance</em>. She knew what she wanted to say. "I'm sorry I ditched all our appointments," she began, "That was a rude and disrespectful thing to do to your business and I'm sorry for. I-I am willing to pay extra as well, for compensation for being a bother."</p><p>While that <em>was</em> tempting… "You make it sound like you know what you want this time," he shot her a brow.</p><p>She sighed. "I alway knew what tattoo I wanted. Even where. An-And I do have a reference!" she hurriedly added.</p><p>He stared at her, confused. "I've had people be nervous before, it's nothing new. But you're the first I've seen act this way for a <em>consultation</em>. I haven't even done anything yet!"</p><p>"And ya're right, ya haven't!" she agreed, nodding fiercely as though she wanted to stress how important that was, "It wasn't ya. It was me. I just…" she took a deep breath. "I want it on my forearm," she rolled up her sleeve and pointed near where her wrist began, "Four words. It's sorta cursive, but not really."</p><p>He shrugged, deciding that maybe she just dropped all conversation pieces and wanted to get to brass tacks. He grabbed his pen and moved his comic book off his notepad, and started taking notes.</p><p>"Well, where it's from it's written like that because it's sorta its own language? It-It's a quote from my favourite fantasy… comic… series…" Callum glanced up, worried that her trailing off was going to result in another ditch, but he found her staring at his desk—no, his comic book.</p><p>He looked at her in amazement. "<em>Xadian Adventures</em>?" he clarified. When she nodded he beamed a smile like a kid on Christmas morning. "No way!"</p><p>"Ya read it too?"</p><p>Callum scoffed. "Read it? I live it! I practically became a tattoo artist because the Archmage Calidum, uses tattoo conjuring!"</p><p>Her face lit up with a smile Callum had never seen before. "Is he your favourite too?" Without even giving him time to answer she added, "I love how the recent issues are him taking on an apprentice! It's like, a direct parallel to his training with <em>his</em> mentor but instead their relationship is—"</p><p>"More parent-child," he filled in.</p><p>"Less teacher-student," she agreed. Her face flushed with an adorable sense of regret as she looked away. "S-Sorry. I just get carried away."</p><p>He snorted. "So? That's awesome! Passion is passion, it just comes out of people in different ways." He gestured all around his office, referring to the photographs of all his favourite tattoos. "This is mine. And I love to do it."</p><p>Rayla nodded, but looked hesitant to continue.</p><p>He thought about that look, and took a shot in the dark. "You were embarrassed weren't you?"</p><p>She nodded, sighing in shame.</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>Another shrug. "I… no one I know likes <em>Xadian Adventures</em>. It's… hard to talk about something like that when no one around ya wants to read a twenty-nine year old comic series." She stared at his comic book, sadness writhing within her words, "With the thirty year old anniversary happening this January, at the Comic Con in our city for once—I…" she held back there, "I just wanted to rep that I was—<em>am</em> a fan." Rayla shook her head and scoffed. "But who am I kiddin'? Ya're out here being proud and I'm stalling because I'm not a big enough of a fan to represent just having it on my bloody arm."</p><p>He stared at her in wonder. This was… an <em>entirely</em> different story than the ones he had in his head. There was more to it of course. Maybe some bullying, maybe even within her family. Something traumatic that made her feel the need to closet this passion of hers. He wouldn't pry, not because it wasn't his place and they hardly knew each other. But, as a fan to another?</p><p>Callum rolled up the sleeves of his sweater all the way up to his shoulders to reveal the canvas hat was his arms. Rayla's jaw dropped in awe at the sight of his tattoo sleeves. Of course she caught it right away.</p><p>"Are those—"</p><p>"—various quotes from the series?" he finished, then nodded. "Yup. I like having them all together, muddled even if it doesn't make much sense because, well, it makes sense to me." He leaned forward and grabbed the comic book, holding it out as he pointed at the name, <em>Xadian Adventures</em>. "It's my appreciation for this work and what it means to me. But I'm not hiding them, even if they're not shown. Heck, I love wearing sweaters! But I'm not hiding them. They're part of me, and I know that even if I can't see it."</p><p>She smiled at that.</p><p>He mirrored her expression. "And by the way, there's a difference between stalling and delaying the inevitable. I don't think this counts as stalling since you still kept coming back." He winked at her and she chuckled.</p><p>"Thanks… Callum," she sniffed, wiping off a tear that had strolled down her cheek. "That was really nice."</p><p>Something about her genuine appreciation made him feel warm inside. "Umm, no problem!" He put the comic book aside and prepared to jot down more notes. "What uh, what would you like again? The quote?"</p><p>Her smile grew into its pride. "'My heart for Xadia,'" she answered.</p><p>He grinned fondly as he wrote it down. "Issue 17, the beginning of the war between elves and humans."</p><p>"Which also led to the greatest ships of <em>all</em> time," she pointed out.</p><p>"Ugh, you're one of <em>those</em> shippers?"</p><p>"C'mon, don't tell me ya don't love seeing the two be together. Their moments are so cute!"</p><p>He rolled his eyes and patted his pad with his pen. "You want it the same way I had mine done? Matching Calidum's ancient text writing style?" She eagerly nodded. He glanced at the clock, noticing it was still only 1:18 PM. "Now, if you're sure and ready, we can do it today too," he suggested, "it will be quick and simple."</p><p>"Yes. <em>Please</em>," she answered.</p><p>::::</p><p>"I can't believe you didn't take her up on her offer to compensate for being such an indecisive brat," Claudia addressed as they started closing up shop. "You were complaining about her for <em>soooo</em> long, and what, that's it?"</p><p>Callum shrugged. "Hey, she knew what she wanted and we got it done." Claudia, of course, had no issue with Rayla. It was more so that she <em>knew</em> something happened during their consultation and liked to play conspiracy theorist. He decided to let the moment pass before speaking up again. "Do you think you can handle the shop for a day?"</p><p>She turned at him with eyes of hope and gratitude. "Yes! Yes yes yes—wait, where will you be? Oh and when?"</p><p>He laughed. "January 22nd. I'm going to Comic Con."</p><p>"Oh, for your comic book thingy?"</p><p>He stopped the door, ready to turn off the lights but he felt his phone buzz. He checked and saw the message:</p><p>
  <em>Unknown [7:06 PM]: HI!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Unknown [7:06 PM]: oops didnt mean to caps. Just wanted to check this was ur number.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Unknown [7:07 PM]: Not that I doubted u</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Unknown [7:07 PM]: oh and wanted to double check if we're still on for coffee this weekend?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Unknown [7:07 PM]: im spamming u arent i?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Unknown [7:07 PM]: shit.</em>
</p><p>He laughed, shaking his head at his phone. "Ooooh, what's got boss man all smiley?" Claudia teased as she moved over to him.</p><p>He shielded his phone from her. "Knock if off, Clauds."</p><p>
  <em>Callum [7:07 PM]: we're still good for coffee.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Callum [7:07 PM]: and dw, ur cool.</em>
</p><p>"<em>Wait</em>," Claudda gasped, "is it Comic Con or… 'Comic Con'?" she said with finger quotes.</p><p>He stared.</p><p>"I <em>mean</em>, are you <em>really</em> going to Comic Con or is it a date?" she insinuated it like a middle schooler.</p><p>
  <em>Rayla [7:08 PM]: thank god.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Rayla [7:08 PM]: for the cool not the coffee</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Rayla [7:08 PM]: acc wait…</em>
</p><p>Callum tooked his phone away and flicked off the lights, laughing as he answered Claudia's question.</p><p>"Yes."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: I promise that over the weekend, I'll catch up! Also, I hope you all are getting the gist of how these prompts are now oriented and themed. I will try to incorporate the number scheme into the narrative, so we'll see if I can pull it off.</p><p>And speaking of fun facts, Rayla's codename in the hitman AU is inspired by her quote in season 1, the same quote used here in this AU for her tattoo! I felt as an hitwoman or assassin the part that makes Rayla, well Rayla, would always be her heart. I like to implement a lot of references to the canon in my AUs, and I'm sure some have already noticed a few.</p><p>Until next time,</p><p>- Bleh</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. 5th Day of Rayllum</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Isha needs romance advice. Reluctantly, she goes to her father for advice, and he apparently has five things to tell her? What the heck is a love language?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Golden Things</strong>
</p><p>Isha knocked on her father's study with a hesitant beat. "Come in!" came the instant reply. She poked her head through and found her father at his easel placing a blank canvas. He turned around, grabbing his brushes, and he met her face. "Ah, Isha—my little Mage Apprentice, do you need help with your recent lessons?"</p><p>She stepped as she closed the door behind her. "Err, no Da. I'm good."</p><p>He raised a brow at her as he sat down at his stool, thumbing over his brush's bristles. "You sure? I understand that after learning the Water Arcanum, spell casting was an entirely new breed of difficulty for me." He laughed to himself. "I remember, your mother was so mad I ruined our date because I soaked her in lake water! Ever since we've had a rule: no Water Magic during dates."</p><p>Isha snickered at that. Her mother was a representative of the Dragonguard and a highly skilled warrior, and she had just begun to double down on her younger brother, Lian, and his combat training. While she thought fighting was cool and all, she knew—much to her mother's disappointment—being a Mage was her path. And despite the tough exterior she tries to hold out, her mother was a softie through and through. She was an understanding lady who had a <em>high</em> tolerance for shenanigans.</p><p>"How many times did ya mess with her with Water Magic?"</p><p>Her father's infamous mischievous grin grew. "Oh <em>far</em> too often. Enough to land me on the couch sometimes!" He shook his head as he fondly chuckled. "But, of course," he leaned over as he cupped a hand over his hand, "your old man knows how to cheer your mother up!"</p><p>Isha smiled. "So… would ya say ya're an expert on romance?"</p><p>He snorted. "I try, but your mother would <em>definitely</em> love to argue…" his smile dropped as he stared at his daughter with a curious look, "otherwise…" His face was replaced with a familiar smugness she had come to get used to growing up. "Issy, are you here for… <em>love</em> advice?" his brows waggled at the inquiry.</p><p>She groaned. She was going to regret this.</p><p>"I am so <em>honoured</em> you decided to come to your father for such wisdom!" He laughed. "Oh, I may be the Archmage, but I know as much about romance as I do the Sky Arcanum!"</p><p>"Da," she spoke up, "don't make this more difficult than it needs to be?" He shut his mouth and grinned. "Okay so… as ya may know, I have a lil' crush on Farha—"</p><p>"Little?" Callum snorted. "Oh Issy, even <em>Ellis</em> is aware of your crush on her daughter."</p><p>"I'm fourteen Da," she said, stone faced, "I've outgrown 'Issy' and I am well aware that Farha's mum knows. She keeps teasin' me whenever I come over her house."</p><p>Callum smiled. "Isha, my little mage, you'll never outgrow being my daughter," he said with a soft pitch, "and I mean <em>never</em>."</p><p>And just like that, her frustration and annoyance melted <em>instantly</em>. It was stuff like that that made Rayla believe she was on the right track going to her father for advice. Her mother did sweet things too of course, but more times than not she flopped on the flirty, confident front. Her father on the other hand? "How do ya do that?"</p><p>He blinked. "Pardon?"</p><p>"It's just… don't tell Mum this but, ya're so good at this romance thing, better than she is sometimes!" He laughed at that, but Isha recognized it not to be his usual proudful laughter, but the kind of you-don't-know-the-half-of-it sort. Weird. "I-I mean… I came to ya because… I wanna know… how did ya and Mum <em>know</em>?"</p><p>"'Know'?" he echoed.</p><p>"Aye. How did ya know when… to just <em>ask</em>?"</p><p>His face lit up at that. "You're going to ask out Farha?"</p><p>"<em>Da</em>."</p><p>"I'm kidding, I'm just teasing Issy, you know me," he sighed, "I hate to tell you this but… it just sort of happened." Her dissatisfaction must've been expressive because he sheepishly shrugged at her. "Well, she kissed me first but it was a misunderstanding and then I kissed her because I really did like and she just, I felt like it was the right moment? But that wasn't even the crazy thing, we said how love each other pretty soon too, like a sorta 'life is short' moment but also it just <em>felt</em> right? It's hard to really say…" he settled with a half smile and nervous eyes.</p><p>"That… was <em>severely</em> unhelpful." Isha palmed at her face and sighed. "So ya're telling me ya two are just <em>so</em> meant to be ya just… clicked?" she looked at him with a tired face. "That's the best advice ever!"</p><p>Her father's face shifted into his affectionate teacher mode as he grabbed the empty stool nearby and dragged it beside him. As he patted it, he said, "Let's chat?"</p><p>She wordlessly walked over and sat down. Her father hugged her close to his chest as he rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. There was a time when she was younger where she actually preferred him touching her hair, but an incident with braids resulted in her mother banning him from ever touching her hair again. But… this was nice too.</p><p>"So what's <em>really</em> the issue? I get coming to me for advice but, there's something specific buggin you huh?"</p><p>She took a deep breath. "I wanna ask out Farha but… it's not that <em>I'm</em> not ready or anything. I have a plan too! I wanna go to the park where we met and tell her how I feel it's just… it's…" she released a frustrated sigh as she crossed her arms.</p><p>Her father shook her as he whispered, "It's okay, it's okay." He continued, "You're not sure if she feels the same way?"</p><p>Isha nodded. "I just… I don't know if how she's acted around me is <em>actually</em> because she's flirting, like because she <em>likes me </em>likes me. Or if it's her being platonically nice? I-I-I know Ellis living up in the mountains and all by herself and that she and Farha don't have many people to be around, so like… what if she just <em>doesn't</em> know the difference between romantic and platonic?" She felt terrible for evening voicing out such a thought, as if bad mouthing her best friend was a sin. "I… <em>am</em> I reading things right?"</p><p>A silence stirred for a moment, her father comforting her as she voiced her frustrations. He knew how to do that. To let her ramble and rant and get it all out. She had seen him do it with her younger brother, to their mother, to even Uncle Ezran whenever he came over. He was good at that. He waited, listened, and then spoke.</p><p>"Isha, are you aware of love languages?"</p><p>She blinked, confused with where this was going but wise enough to be patient. She quietly shook her head.</p><p>"Well… it's not a <em>proven</em> fact, not yet, your mother's taken to reading about romance books like them in her free time. But, the basic idea is that we all have a certain love language we respond to—five, that is—," he explained, "and how we respond to the people we like and how they respond to us? It's essentially just the way we all interact. Now to me? I find that everyone has a mixture of everything but… sometimes, there's just instances where the person you like does something that clicks with your love language and… it's often because they <em>know</em> it does."</p><p>She shot her head up and stared at her father. "Da, what're ya gettin' at?"</p><p>He chuckled. "Well, similar to how <em>you</em> are worrying about misinterpreting Farha's messages, you think she might be as well?" Her shock must've been obvious as her father continued, "And since we all joke about how obvious you are—you think she's also debating whether you're being romantic or not?"</p><p>That <em>blew</em> her mind. Could it really be true? But that still didn't confirm any of her own worries. "I… how can I know? That doesn't really confirm anythin'!"</p><p>"Isha," came her father's affectionate tone, "that's the idea." He quickly explained, "I'm saying sometimes we often do things for the people we care about that not even <em>we </em>are aware of it! But we still do them because we care."</p><p>It… sounded like it made sense. Like he was onto something. But still… "How?"</p><p>He smiled. "Well, take one of the languages perhaps? Words of Affirmation…" She nodded, expressing her attention, "Like, small acts of encouragement, actively voicing out one's genuine appreciation for affection for their partner…"</p><p>::::</p><p>"<em>Da, I thought ya and Mum were headin' out today?"</em></p><p>"<em>Oh we are! But change plans has me going to the castle to just do some quick busywork and your mother has to head to the market herself," he explained as he laid out her and Lian's breakfast. Some porridge, her favourite! "So your mom will be heading out earlier than me."</em></p><p>
  <em>She nodded as she sat down and began eating.</em>
</p><p>"<em>What's this 'bout me?" her mother's voice leaked in as she filled the dining room with her presence.</em></p><p>
  <em>Her father beamed. "Nothing dear, just me explaining to Issy our plans for the day."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She smiled in response, "Ahh, well I thought I'd say thanks for lovely note on the shoppin' list." She shook said paper as her smile somehow grew.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her father feigned ignored. "What note?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her mother, however, decided to play along. "Ah, I guess nevermind! I guess I'll have to find the author of such a poetic profession of love!" she dramatically sighed, "Where will I ever find such a clever man?"</em>
</p><p>"<em>Oh I'm sure you keen eyes and intellectual inquisitiveness will guide you well."</em></p><p>
  <em>Isha, on the other four-fingered-hand, darted back and forth between the two's banter. A short moment passed and her mother released a tender sigh.</em>
</p><p>"<em>Thanks, love."</em></p><p>"<em>Anytime, my dear."</em></p><p><em>She hung off the door frame before entirely stepping out. "Good luck at the castle! I know it's </em>nothing<em> but I know ya'll stomp it out quick!"</em></p><p><em>He smiled at that. "And I'll try to hurry so I can make it in time to help you at that market, </em>but<em>, knowing you, you'll be done long before I even get to the castle!"</em></p><p>
  <em>Another exchange of fond looks, and she shot him a wink before departing. "Love ya, and love ya too Issy!"</em>
</p><p>"<em>Love you most!"</em></p><p>"<em>And love ya always!" was her mother's final response before the door closing shut behind her.</em></p><p>
  <em>Isha stared at her father in disgust and curiosity as he started to eat his porridge. "Why are you two always saying that?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her father shrugged. "Because it's true?</em>
</p><p>::::</p><p>Isha smiled at the memory, realising the importance of how much they reminded each other. It was true, what was the harm in proclaiming it? Encouragement, verbal profession, the littlest things… Like her and Farha. <em>"Isha, you're the best Mage I've </em>ever<em> seen!"</em> <em>"I honestly think your hair is Godly levels of beautiful." "You are amazing, Is."</em></p><p>A faint blush danced across her cheeks as she realized all the small instances her famed crush spoke like her parents did to each other. Not the exact words of course, but the inflection, the fondness in looks, the casual reminders—she did it so often.</p><p>"—of course, physical touch as well," her father continued, "that one is more clear sometimes, but there are other subtleties as well!"</p><p>Her attention raised at that. "How so?"</p><p>"<em>Well</em>, sometimes physical affection isn't just kisses, but casual, more intimate things too…"</p><p>::::</p><p>
  <em>Isha walked into the room to ask her parents about dinner, but she instead found the two sitting at the couch together. Her father had his sketchpad out, drawing away on his lap while her mother was leaning up against him, head rested on his shoulder as she flipped away at her novel. The two sat there, completely quiet, save for her father's brushing pen and mother's casual turn of a page. Isha was mesmerized by the sight.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Suddenly, her father turned his mouth mid-sketch and pecked her mother's forehead, eliciting a giggle from her. She responded by freeing her page turning hand and patting her father's cheek, like she would do for their pet Sky dragon Zeusia. He beamed at that and the two returned to their tasks.</em>
</p><p>"<em>What're ya doin'?" Isha asked, surprisingly not startling either of them.</em></p><p>
  <em>Her mother moved her head from her comfort spot, much to her father's disappointment, and bookmarked her page as she gave Isha her full attention. "Oh, just lounging around," her mother simply said. "Do ya need something?"</em>
</p><p><em>She blinked. A better explanation than </em>that<em>. But she settled for, "Um, when's dinner?"</em></p><p>
  <em>Her father's face finally shot up from his sketch as he announced, "Right! I'll get on it!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But as he moved himself from the couch, her mother stopped him with her hand, interlacing her fingers with his seamlessly. "Wait, don't ya wanna finish your sketch?" He chuckled as he put down his pad and used his free hand to pat her hold. It seemed like an affectionate pat? Her mother responded by taking his hand up and kissing it. The two shared an interlocked gaze, and then her mother released him. "Fine, go, go."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her father laughed as he walked toward the kitchen, patting Isha on the shoulder with a comforting squeeze as he passed her.</em>
</p><p>::::</p><p>Casual, subtle, intimate—but <em>physical</em>. It was all there. It reminded her of how she often walked with Farha. Slight brushes of hands and fingertips as they walked side by side. Shoulder touches, from assuring squeezes to gentle, playful bumps. Hugs? Before now Isha had been convinced she was smitten with them, but looking at it again it was always Farha who embraced her, as if she was squeezing the life out of her with each one. It was always her who started it… Isha just followed suit.</p><p>"—receiving gifts is a big thing too. It's obvious as well, but piled up with so many instances you never realize how much someone gives you!" Her father laughed. "Honestly, things like…"</p><p>::::</p><p>"<em>Oh family!" her father's voice echoed throughout the house.</em></p><p><em>Isha looked up from her book, </em>A Human Archmage's Guide to Magic<em>, and let out a breath of relief. An excuse from her studying? Finally. As she stepped up from her seat on the couch, her mother entered the room at the kitchen at the same time her father arrived in the room.</em></p><p>"<em>I come bearing tonight's dinner!" he announced as he hefted up a bag. "An entire turkey! Courtesy of the staff at the council meeting today!"</em></p><p>
  <em>Isha didn't really have anything to comment on that: turkey was nice, and that was good fortune for her dad. She turned and watched her mother look at him with a mixture of warmth and annoyance.</em>
</p><p>"<em>Cal, I thought I say I was cookin' tonight?"</em></p><p><em>He rolled his eyes as he made his way over. "We </em>both<em> know you hate cooking. I'll take care of it!"</em></p><p>"<em>Fine, but I'm still making ya your favourite pie."</em></p><p>
  <em>Her father pouted. "Aw, did I ruin a surprise?"</em>
</p><p>"<em>By being sweet? Oh no my dear," she walked over and pecked his cheek, pulling the bag from his hands as she departed, "I could never fault ya for that."</em></p><p>
  <em>He smiled at her as she walked away. "By the way there's some Moonberry juice in there too! I got it on my way home!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She popped her head back into the room, grinning ear to ear. "Thanks. And I got Isha to start on her studying." She blew a kiss and ducked away.</em>
</p><p><em>Isha sighed at the sudden attention as her father looked pleased. "That's great Ray, thank you!" He walked over to Isha, revealing a jelly tart from his hand. Her favourite treat! "And thank </em>you<em> for studying."</em></p><p>::::</p><p>Farha did that. She did that so often! Cute little bracelets she would make because it "reminded it of her," or baking her jelly tarts because she knew she liked them so much, or making her scrunchies that could double as braids because "they looked good on her regardless if she wore it as a braid or bracelet." Small reasons that were essentially… "Just cause."</p><p>Maybe she <em>was</em> just not seeing things before…</p><p>"You know, I think it also pairs well with Quality Time," her father rambled on, "just small instances of one-on-one time that's just <em>you</em> guys. It's private, it's personal, it's attentive, it's…"</p><p>::::</p><p>"<em>Lian, where's Da and Mum?" Isha shouted as she barged into his room.</em></p><p>
  <em>Her younger brother absentmindedly hummed a tune as he sharpened his dagger. "They went out!" he simply said, minding his own business.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She blinked at that. "Out? But Da said he'd start teaching me Ocean Magic today?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her brother shrugged. "They wanted to go out on a walk. Said it'd only be like ten minutes."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Isha pouted. She really wanted to train with her father today. Thankfully, the sound of the door alerted her ears and she rushed over immediately.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She found her parents walking in, smiling and giggling like those teenagers she occasionally saw at the market. "—be later," came her mother's whisper. Her attention shifted over and met Isha's eyes. "Oh, hi Issy! Ya're father and I just went out for a stroll."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her father beamed proudly. "And a little bit of sunset watching!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Isha gaped. "Sun's almost down? But Da, ya promised to teach me Ocean Magic today!"</em>
</p><p><em>Her father seemed unphased as he shook his head. "Relax my Mage Apprentice, it's crucial we work at night today!" He nodded confidently. "Water has temperature, tonight we'll be playing with the lakeside freezing water!" Her mother elbowed his stomach, "Argh—I mean </em>learning<em>. Not playing. Of course." He winked at her as he turned and pecked her mother.</em></p><p>
  <em>Isha felt a surge of relief and joy. "That's great Da. Thanks!" She left the room to prep her things, but not before hearing:</em>
</p><p>"<em>So? Sketch you later? After the lesson and dinner?"</em></p><p>"<em>Can't wait!"</em></p><p>
  <em>It wasn't until the two were wrapping up their lesson, Isha decided to ask, "Da, why're ya spending so much time with Mum? Ya're married, haven't ya done it enough?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He chuckled, shaking his head with an adoring smile. "It's like you said Issy," he winked at her smugly as he walked back to their cottage, "It's because we're married."</em>
</p><p>::::</p><p>It's because they love each other. It's because they just wanted to<em> do</em> things together because they liked each other that much. Like reading/sketching together—or studying together, like her and Farha. Like going on long walks and watching sunsets—or strolls into forests, looking for adventures. And even just sitting together face to face, talking about anything and everything—<em>exactly</em> like her and Farha.</p><p>"Da, tell me the last one!" she eagerly said.</p><p>He blinked in alarm. "Ah, what?"</p><p>"C'mon! C'mon! Tell me!"</p><p>He chuckled as he replied, "Alright, alright!" Clearing his throat, he continued, "Acts of service is, I think, the definition of romance. But also what <em>you</em> mean to <em>another</em>…"</p><p>::::</p><p>
  <em>Isha walked into her father's study and was surprised to find her mother there instead. She caught her in the act of cleaning up her father's supplies; putting his brushes away in their proper holders, adjusting his easel's size to his preferred starting height, and throwing his dirty brushes and mixing paints into one bin. She stopped mid clean as she noticed her daughter's presence.</em>
</p><p>"<em>Oh, hey Is. Need somethin'?"</em></p><p><em>She stared, confused. "Uhhh, yeah… from Da… where—</em>why<em> are ya cleanin' his study?"</em></p><p>
  <em>Her mother laughed. "Oh, ya're father went to go run out and buy Zeusia some treats for me, and he left in a hurry so," she shrugged like it was a normal thing to do and went about with her task, "Should be back soon I believe!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Isha decided she could wait for her father's return. Evidently that resulted in her passing out in her bedroom before she could ask him about her Mage homework. A light rap on her door startled her from her slumber. She turned to her door to find the culprit and found her mother, smiling at her.</em>
</p><p>"<em>Mum?"</em></p><p>"<em>Ya're father's home. But I thought I'd wait until ya got some good sleep in before I woke ya," she spoke with a fondness laced in her voice.</em></p><p>
  <em>Isha rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she groaned. "Uhh, how long was I out?"</em>
</p><p>"<em>Not long, just an hour or so," her mother replied. "Hope that's okay."</em></p><p>
  <em>Isha glanced at the window and noticed it pretty dark out. "Oh. Yeah it's fine." She hopped out of bed and followed her mother out the room. She led her into the dining room where, of course, her father was setting the table with a brewing pot over the stove.</em>
</p><p>"<em>Oh!" Rayla walked over and hugged her husband. "Thanks for starting but I just had to use the bathroom!"</em></p><p>
  <em>He returned the embrace with ease. "It's never a problem," he easily replied, "Just figured I'd do it just 'cause."</em>
</p><p>::::</p><p>"Oh my Azymondias," Isha gasped, "She likes me."</p><p>Callum stared at her, waiting for her to elaborate.</p><p>"She <em>likes</em> me! O-Or, at least, there's a <em>chance </em>she likes me! It-It might not seem that big a deal but before I was convinced I had no chance but—" she released an excited squeal. "I-I-I gotta go!" she announced as shot up from her seat.</p><p>Her father stared at with a proud smile. "And? Do what?"</p><p>She stopped before his doorframe and smiled back. "Tell the girl I like I wanna date her!"</p><p>"Yeah you will!"</p><p>She rushed out of the room.</p><p>"Oh but, be back before sundown!" she heard him shout.</p><p>Isha smiled confidently as she gathered her things and rushed out of the room, bidding a quick goodbye to Lian before she left the house. Surprisingly, her father <em>was</em> good at romance advice.</p><p>But he was also a good husband.</p><p>And a good dad.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: Would Chapman’s research exist in an age like TDP’s? Probably not! Do I care? This fic’s existence is the answer! I know Love Languages aren’t about meshing or how you act with others, it’s how you RESPOND to others affection. It’s why the focus is on Isha realizing how Farha acts WITH her is similar to her parents’ interactions with each other (i.e. her receiving this affection in all different forms). Also I know receiving gifts isn’t about GIVING gifts, it’s RECEIVING.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. 6th Day of Rayllum</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Callum finally got his first real break. His first real monster: a vampire. But what happens when this... "Rayla" isn't at all what he expected a vampire to be? Monster hunter AU.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Beast A-Slaying</strong>
</p><p>This was it.</p><p>Callum's first big gig. No more killing pests like raccoons or rodents, this was the real deal. A vampire. An actual, living, confirmed sighting, vampire. He had a couple of wooden stakes ona belt wrapped around his chest, hidden within his brown trench coat. On his thighs were holsters for his daggers, and his boots were thick leather made for crushing heads. Well, they were made for trudging through the mud, but that's what he told anyone who listened what they were for.</p><p>Regardless of the made up stories, he looked the part. And after his first real monster kill, he would be able to walk the talk too.</p><p>He finally arrived at the place of interest, the old abandoned manor of Peake Town. The story went that the Moon family who once owned the place were all murdered in the manor: staff, children, the garden keeper—everyone. Strangely enough, the common theme within the rumours was that the wife was responsible, as investigators couldn't find her corpse, but no one could retrieve any of the residents' bodies either. Nonetheless, Callum didn't care for the investigative narrative, he was here for the kill.</p><p>After hopping over the gate, he calmly marched over to the front door, stake in hand, hood up, and turtleneck up. Pushing open the door, it creaked loud and echoed all around the manor, resonating off the walls for what felt like minutes.</p><p>"Hello?" he pointlessly called out. "Vampire? I am here to kill you!"</p><p>"Aye? That a fact, laddie?" a female voice suddenly appeared from behind him. He whipped around and found nothing. The door closed shut and a cold breeze blew through. He froze in his spot, desperately looking around.</p><p>A mockful laughter echoed around him. It sounded like it was coming from everywhere. The roof creaked and the dusty, webbed chandelier swung back and forth. The steps squeaked. Callum's eyes darted all over.</p><p>"Boy ya don't look the vampire slayer part," she snorted, "What, they run out?"</p><p>"I-I," he cleared his throat, "I'm here to kill you."</p><p>She scoffed. "Sure, I'll believe it when I see it."</p><p>A woosh blew past Callum and she suddenly appeared, standing halfway up the steps, leaning on the broken guard rail. She had long white hair that dropped down to her waist, matching the complexion of her pale skin, but she surprisingly had two horns protruding out from her head, slicking back. She danced down each step, making a show of her fancy dress shoes and navy slacks as she descended. With her hands tucked into her navy coat, but an unbuttoned navy vest exposed her dirty white dress shirt and its blood stains. She had a sickly sweet smile as she reached the last step.</p><p>Dropping down to the floor, she revealed her hands in showmanship-like manner, shaking them as she chuckled. "Frightenin' aren't I?" she inquired as made a clawing motion with her four fingered hand's nails—or claws?</p><p>She did not look like a vampire. Maybe the pale skin but this was a demon for sure. She even had pointed ears. "O-Oh wow… you, uh, you have horns," he found himself saying.</p><p>She glanced up and shrugged. "Aye. Kinda weird devil look eh?"</p><p>"A-And," he blinked, "four fingers?"</p><p>She frowned. "I can still flip ya off with them." She demonstrated crudely. "Now are ya done or are we doing the whole Red Ridin' bit through and through?"</p><p>He stammered, "Wh-What?"</p><p>She sighed. "Fine. Yeah these fangs are all the better to eat ya with," she rolled her eyes, "or suck your blood out with, whatever. Can't make that sound good phonetically."</p><p>"S-So you do have fangs?"</p><p>She stared at him, amused and confused. "Duh." She opened her mouth to reveal her red stained teeth and then two fangs popped out of her top front teeth, really sharp fangs. She also had really nice teeth? "Can retract 'em whenever," she explained as they went back in, "makes it hard to talk when ya got the equivalent of an overbite going on."</p><p>Callum was massively at a lost. "An-And you're Scottish?"</p><p>Her face contorted into offence. "Aye? What's that got to do with anythin'?"</p><p>"I-I-I, just, you're not what a vampire is supposed to be!" he explained. A frantic worry crawled up in him as he paced back and forth "You're basically a demon incarnate—"</p><p>"Hey!"</p><p>"—A-And I signed up to kill a vampire. I-I mean maybe I could kill you with a crucifix and Holy Water but you don't kill a demon!" He had his head in his hand and was hyperventilating. How was he supposed to do this now?</p><p>The woman/vampire/demon chuckled. "Wow, ya're surprisingly a whole new reaction than what I've typically seen." Another gust of wind and she was in front of him, grinning with her now protruding fangs. "Kinda makes me wanna have fun first."</p><p>Callum wasn't sure what it was that made him act.</p><p>Maybe it was the frustrations building up within him.</p><p>Maybe it was the fact that he already had everything he needed.</p><p>Maybe it was her smug, annoying mischievous grin.</p><p>Without a word, he clenched the stake in his hand and went straight for her heart, stabbing it directly. The woman released a gasp of pain as she clenched onto the stake before stumbling back, breaking the already rickety railing as she collapsed on the stairs. She continued to gasp and wheeze as she reached her hand out for the sky. "Nooo! My… only… weakness: dying!" She coughed and coughed before finally going limp.</p><p>Callum blinked. "Holy shi—"</p><p>And she sat up.</p><p>He released a squeal and the not dead vampire started laughing. "Oh my goodness ya screamed like a lady, Holy Hades!" She snorted as she doubled over, with the stake still in her. "Ahh bloody Hades that'll be a fun one to laugh about again in a decade or so."</p><p>"How are you still alive! A stake to the heart is—"</p><p>"One of my weaknesses?" the Scottish vampire interjected blankly. She shot up to her feet and shook the stake in her hand, revealing no blood. He looked at her chest and saw penetration of skin at all. "Yeah… vampires don't work like that. I'm glad ya missed the vest though, this is my favourite outfit!"</p><p>Callum's entire body felt chills. They didn't? Of course not. Their immortality wouldn't just fall to such a Human invention. She started to creep closer and Callum realized he needed to regroup. "Ahh, what's that!" he shouted, pointing up at the second floor.</p><p>"Eh?" she turned and looked, and he made a break for it. Bolting out the door, and through the courtyard, as fast as his legs could take him. She was bound to the manor, if he left, she couldn't get him.</p><p>He needed a new plan.</p><p>::::</p><p>He crept in through a broken window this time, hoping he could surprise her. Admittedly, announcing his presence on this first arrival was cocky and foolish. He slid through the window and found himself in a study. This time he could—</p><p>"Hah, knew ya'd come back."</p><p>He jumped. Like, actually jumped. He turned and found the vampire lounging on a sofa, reading a novel. She had her legs sprung up on the armrest and her head rested in the palm of four fingered hand.</p><p>"Ya know, ya left without even exchanging names. It's kinda rude to do that." She folded the page's corner and shut the book with one hand. Then stood up smiling at him. "But I'm a polite Hostess," she took a bow, "welcome back to my humble abode."</p><p>Callum took a deep breath to calm the red he was starting to see. This was more than just proving himself now. No one. Absolutely no one, should bookmark a page by folding its corners. "You'll crease the pages!" he shouted in fit of rage, pulling his vial of Holy Water from his trench coat and uncorking its cap. He splashed her with it, actually managing to catch her by surprise but—</p><p>She didn't react.</p><p>She made a small irritated groan as she looked down at herself. "Awww man, Holy Water? That smell reeks. This is my favourite outfit too—ohh." She growled through her tight lips as she shook her head. "I'm so tempted to kill ya now."</p><p>Callum's eyes went wide. He bolted out the window, launching himself outside without hesitation.</p><p>He bruised the next day, sure, but he also had a better plan.</p><p>::::</p><p>He had noticed a cellar door on the side from his last entrance. He decided to enter there then make his way up. The cellar was shockingly full and not at all empty, aside from the dust and cobwebs, it still was stocked as if the owners had just abandoned the place. Perhaps that's the true story, the Scottish vampire arrived and kicked them out and stole their clothes to look cool and hot in—Callum shook his head. He was getting off track. As he ascended to the kitchen, he opened the door slightly, peeking through the slit as he slowly opened it and scanned the kitchen.</p><p>And of course, at the island, she was standing there, munching on an apple?</p><p>"Rayla."</p><p>He stared. "What?"</p><p>"Rayla, it's my name ya arsehole," she said with a cold tone. Her eyes met his as she took a massive bite of her apple. "Least ya could do now is tell me yours."</p><p>He shook his head, reminding himself the foolishness of this whole scenario. "No. You'll be dead before you would even need to know!"</p><p>Her expression went blank, her unamusement very apparent but not stopping Callum's resolve at all. "Fine, whattya got this time."</p><p>He chuckled, glad that she said that because he was ready (read: practicing this line for two hours) with a comeback. "Oh me? I have nothing for you," he smugly said as his hand dug into his trench's inner pocket, "but the Lord and Saviour has a Gospel for you!" He whipped out his crucifix, holding it out at her as made a quick sign of the cross. "The power of Christ compels you!"</p><p>"To what?" she dryly shot back.</p><p>Sweat started to bead down his head as his hand started to shake. Maybe he should've brought a priest.</p><p>"And isn't a crucifix a downgrade from Holy Water?" She crossed her arms. As if in a last ditch attempt, he chucked the cross at her, watching it pointlessly bounce of her chess and cluttered onto the table. "Sorry, I'm not Christian or Catholic," she shrugged, "Dunno if that affects it but also that's not how vampires work."</p><p>He sighed. "Callum.</p><p>Her brow raised as she cocked her head.</p><p>"My name's Callum," he said as he walked out, heading toward the front door.</p><p>"Bye Callum!" she shouted as she marched out the door.</p><p>Back to the drawing board to kill Rayla.</p><p>::::</p><p>He's not sure why he wasted ten minutes trying to scale the building just to enter through the rooftop, but his disappointment of meeting her immediately inside, amongst a dusty webbed collection of furniture and boxes definitely didn't make him feel like it was worth it.</p><p>"Why did ya waste ten minutes scalin' the building?" she asked, arms folded across her chest as she had her hip jutted out and a disappointed look on her face.</p><p>He panted. "I… I… I thought coming from above would be… the last thing… you'd expect…"</p><p>She laughed. "Well it sorta was? I never expect anyone to do that because the manor's so darn tall. I heard climbing like, as soon as ya started. I definitely didn't expect ya to keep going thought, especially after the third fall."</p><p>He stared at her, offended. "And you didn't help me? Or at least come outside?"</p><p>Rayla shrugged, and he was convinced if he couldn't do anything at least her arms would probably fall off from all its shrugging. "Felt like I would've robbed ya a win."</p><p>He sighed as he shook his head, reaching for plan D. Without warning, he threw the garlic at her. But with not energy left in him at all, it fell at her feet. She glanced down, bent over, and picked it up, holding it between her two fingers as she inspected it.</p><p>"Garlic?"</p><p>"G… Garlic," he panted.</p><p>She nodded and dug her teeth in. Her small bite very apparent on the vegetable. She winced as she chucked it out the window, spitting out the bite as she shuddered. "Uggh, ew ew ewwww," she rushed out, smacking her tongue as if to remove the taste, "disgusting!"</p><p>He sighed. "Why… why did you eat it… it's… supposed to…"</p><p>"Never had it before. Heard that it wards us off but I've obviously come by it before," another damn shrug, "but I still haven't tried it. Damn if it tastes like that I can see why vampires wanna stay away."</p><p>He rolled his eyes, managing to regain his strength as he stood up straight. "Whelp, I'll just see myself out," he declared as he made his way over the stairs.</p><p>"Aight. Bye Callum!"</p><p>"Yeah. Bye Rayla," he said he descended the steps, frustrated and annoyed.</p><p>::::</p><p>Broad daylight, beautiful birds chirping, and he decided to knock. He wasn't surprised to find her answering within seconds. She opened the door and smiled, "Ahh, Callum! Another dastardly plot for me today?"</p><p>He shrugged, taking a page from mannerisms. "Ehh, you feel like going for a walk?"</p><p>Her face flushed, wish kind of perplexed him—wasn't she dead, or a corpse? How could she even do that? "W-Wait, really?"</p><p>He nodded. "Yeah, it's a nice day out so…"</p><p>She beamed back a cute fanged grin as she nodded. "Aye, it is!" She stepped inside, "Gimme a sec to get my parasol!" And she vanished, wind filing her place and nearly blowing him away.</p><p>He would've been reluctant to step in, as he wasn't invited in by her, but they've already breached regular societal norms so he couldn't be bothered to care. He trailed inside, trying to follow her voice. "Parasol?" So maybe… just maybe…</p><p>"Yeah! It's my favourite! It goes nice with my outfit too!" she returned in the foyer, a dark blue parasol in her hand as she rested it over her shoulder. "Now shall we?" She giggled as she hurried outside, opening her parasol and smiling as she took in a breath. "Ahh, lovely air."</p><p>Callum nodded as he held out his arm, waiting for her to interlock. She quickly obliged, and the two began walking. "A stroll around the estate?"</p><p>She nodded. "Aye, I'd love that. The garden's actually really nice during the day." Everything was decayed or overgrown, but she was right. It had a sort of natural poeticism to its existence. The result of man intervention abandoning its project and letting nature revive it into its own image.</p><p>"So… is this your place?" he decided to ask.</p><p>She chuckled. "Ahh, curious 'bout the story are ya?"</p><p>He smiled. "Guilty as charged. Rumours all over Peake Town make this out to be some tragic tale."</p><p>Her body felt a bit stilled at that, her arm locked for a moment. But a laugh erupting from her dissipated that stilted movement. "Oh yeah? What're the townsfolk sayin' 'bout me?"</p><p>He shrugged. "Well, it's not necessarily you being discussed but the owners of the manor. Running tale is a rampant murder, but most believe the wife did it," her face—fort the briefest of instances—twitched at that, "But that's it. Everyone just thinks you moved in."</p><p>"Oh, that's the story huh?" she said sardonically.</p><p>He suddenly felt a chill in atmosphere. "Uhh yeah, yup." She was distracted.</p><p>"Well, I guess it's sorta true," she mumbled. He barely got it, but it sounded childish, bitter.</p><p>"What… is the story?"</p><p>"What's yours?" she shot back, smirking proudly at her deflection. "Ya're not exactly an ideal monster hunter."</p><p>He sighed, smiling through the unintentional insult. "Yeah well… it's what I wanna do. I wanna kill monsters but no one around these parts takes me seriously so I'm more of an exterminator. Instead of bagging werewolf heads I'm ridding houses of rodents and mice."</p><p>She snorted. When he made a face she quickly covered her mouth with a whisper of, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I-I just, the thought of ya chasin' vermin around is kinda adorable," she teased, bumping her shoulder against his.</p><p>His stomach sort of buzzed at that, like a strange tingle? Regardless, he steeled himself and frowned. "I'm a monster hunter. I swear. You and everyone else may not take me seriously but I will prove it!"</p><p>Rayla rolled her eyes at that. "Oh yeah? And whattya call this? Monster Dating?" her cheeks were slightly tinted as she teased, but he ignored it, for it was the perfect setup for his oneliner.</p><p>"No, I call it, a trick!" he announced, removing his arm as he swiped at her parasol launching a few feet away from them.</p><p>She blinked, staring at him confused as the sunlight illuminated off her skin like a ray of beauty. Her pale complexion was unharmed, rather, it was enhanced? Like the light of the sun highlighted her lovely features and innocent expression. She was cute.</p><p>"Uhh, what the heck was that?"</p><p>He blinked out of his trance, realizing his plan failed. "I… I thought—'</p><p>Her face contorted into anger as she pieced it together. "Ya were tryin' to kill me?"</p><p>"I thought sunlight—"</p><p>"No of course it doesn't ya arse!" she spat out.</p><p>"But the parasol—"</p><p>"It looks nice with my outfit, I wanted to bring to impres—to impersonate a lady ya know! I don't get a lot of chances to show off my lady side not with arses like ya tryin' to kill me!"</p><p>He looked at her with confusion. "Why are you mad? That's what I've been trying to do this entire time!"</p><p>"But I thought this time ya wanted to—" she held back, eyes suddenly welling up with tears? His eyes went wide at that. She acted so human. How was this—she, so human? Her tearful eyes and hurt face was instantly replaced with fury. Her eyes were filled with black and her voice went deep, "Leave."</p><p>"I—"</p><p>He blinked.</p><p>And he was suddenly flat faced on the ground. He stood up, dusting himself off of leaves and dirt as he looked around. He was yards away from the estate. An echoing voice lingered around him.</p><p>"Never return… Hunter."</p><p>His mind ran with a million thoughts, questions, and contemplations of what to do next. But there was one thing that was at the forefront of his mind. Something he realized in the instant he went face first into the ground. It wasn't that sunlight couldn't kill her. It wasn't that he had no more options left. It was that in the entirety of this strange, weird game they had… she could've killed him within whenever she wanted. Snap his neck, stab him, throw him off the roof—literally anything, not even now, when he clearly pissed her off.</p><p>And she didn't…</p><p>::::</p><p>Rayla sulked herself down the stairs, a tub of sherbert ice cream she had stored in the cellar. She had already wolfed through four tubs in her bedroom and was on her last. She released a sob as she shoved a minty chocolate spoonful into her mouth. She was so stupid. Of course he just wanted to kill her. Heck, even from his mini backstory she gathered he wanted to kill her just to prove something. It was never about her. It was about what she represented.</p><p>His opportunity.</p><p>As she reached the foyer, she made her way over to the kitchen, continuing her sobs with no remorse because who cared? And then she caught it. A scent. A nice, food scent. It smelled like steak, mashed potatoes, wineand—her eyes widened. Human. Not just any human. She burst into the kitchen and found Callum stood at the island, startled by her arrival.</p><p>The counter had two plates of steaks, one was rare, the other medium, some mashed potatoes on the side, all resting next to glasses and a bottle of red wine.</p><p>"What. Are. Ya. Doing. Here," she venomously asked.</p><p>He obviously looked nervous, but to his credit, he visibly swallowed his nerves and said, "I'm sorry. I-I didn't realize how it all looked to you and I didn't realize what was going on b-but I'm making up for that! Because, okay, maybe I'm a little curious about your story but I can see it hurt you—"</p><p>She glanced down, remembering her ice cream plastered face and chucked the tub off to the side as she wiped her face.</p><p>"—But also, because I do think you're kinda cool. Like, really pretty and funny, and I…" he laughed, shrugging as he gestured to table. "Give me a shot? No killing. I promise, Rayla," he said it with a genuine smile. Her name off his lips was probably her only weakness.</p><p>She was at a loss for words. Never had she ever, not in all her years of existence, met anyone who would do this for her. "How did ya get in?</p><p>He chuckled. "I snuck in."</p><p>She glared. "Tell me."</p><p>"Front door." She blinked, amazed at that. "You never did notice me the first time, and it was only because I announced myself. Every other time you caught me you were busy doing something so I figured that meant you were always just doing whatever and you weren't exactly guarding it, so I just walked in and set this up!" He cleared his throat. "Which, I may add, is getting cold."</p><p>She hated that her cheeks flushed at that. He was smooth and smart. The Gods really didn't want to give her an excuse to hate him huh? Maybe Aphrodite decided to bless her with a gift for once. That realization struck her and she relented, taking a seat across from him, trying not to giggle at his childish celebratory fist pump.</p><p>As she started to cut into her steak he begam, "H-Hope you like it that. I-I-I didn't want to assume but—"</p><p>"It's fine." She liked it medium. But if he was still running with that theme then she could handle rare for tonight.</p><p>Her face must've twitched because he sighed, shaking his head. "That's on me," he nervously chuckled as he grabbed her plate and swapped with her, "I prefer rare. You don't mind medium do you?"</p><p>She blinked. "Umm. It's my favourite," proudly smiled at that, "Thanks." She watched him take a bite and wince. So it was a lie. He was trying at least. "We can split it," she found herself saying. He stared, confused. "I know ya don't like it rare. C'mon let's just split it."</p><p>He shook his head, "No, no, no!" he took another big bite, despite not finishing his first, and shoved a spoonful of mashed potatoes in. He beamed a mouthful of a tight lipped smile. "See?"</p><p>She sighed. Darn him being cute too. "So what, ya said ya were curious…"</p><p>He swallowed. "I… I kinda don't wanna pressure you now. Don't wanna like, make you uncomfortable y'know?"</p><p>Rayla stared at him, watching his genuine worry hold to her surprised stare. "I'm an Empousa," she began, unsure why she decided this but that was it. She went with it, "Like the Daimon. In Greek Mythology? Yeah, that's me."</p><p>His eyes went wide as his jaw dropped, spilling his spoonful of mashed potato back onto the played. Despite herself, she giggled at that.</p><p>"L-Like Greek Mythos? For real?"</p><p>She nodded.</p><p>"Fascinating…" he said under his breath, disbelief and wonder clearly battling his mind.</p><p>She smiled at that. "Everythin' ya Humans have on monsters and myths comes from us, well, being real."</p><p>He looked at her, still amazed. "Really?"</p><p>"Werewolves?" He nodded, attention grabbed. "Lycan. Daimon from the Underworld, same powers really—shapeshifters who turn into wolves, but ya Americans discovered 'em 'Werewolf' became the coined term."</p><p>He shook his head, chuckling in awe. "S-So you're an Empousa? Not a vampire?"</p><p>She denied, "Nah. Some folktales ya have, do get spun around of course. Lycan don't die to silver, Empousa don't die to well… everythin' ya just tried." She shrugged. "We don't die by any mortal means honestly. None of ya have the right metals for it. Has to be mined from Mount Olympus in order to really hurt us permanently. Or at the hands of a Demigod, so yeah."</p><p>His face was slack jawed with shock. "Mount Olympus… is real?"</p><p>Rayla chuckled. "Don't ask me where, us Daimon don't exactly get dinner invites," she mused.</p><p>"An-And how does this relate to you and this manor?"</p><p>Her smile fell.</p><p>"W-Wait you don't have to tell me." Her heart ached at his immediate backtrack. He was giving her an out. He knew he had no business in any way but to say anything and recognized it from the start. He was true to his word. But at the same time, centuries and centuries and centuries of loneliness and she had yet to met a man to treat her like this.</p><p>"I was adopted," she said. Her eyes pricked, the story was on the tip of her lips but the pain was bound to follow. For an immortal Daimon she still felt the pain of grief and betrayal like a Celestial Bronze dagger to her heart. Lain, Tiadrin, Runaan, Ethari, Janai—all gone. She couldn't handle the sorrow that followed with their stories, so she settled for a rough cut.</p><p>"I was adopted. I-I don't visibly age. When I was, well, created, my physique remained the same throughout time. I-I am immortal, but I just look always this young. I think they, um, they one said I looked like I was a 18? 17? I dunno, but they took me in 'cause the Moons couldn't sire children. Both Lain and Tiadrin Moon—the heads of the house—were infertile. But Peake Town expected them to sire a child soon because well, it was expected!</p><p>"A-And yeah, so they found me. And I don't exactly carry myself like a clean gal. They offered residence, I had to pretend I was their daughter who was a kept secret until I was of marrying age. I accepted because, well, I may be immortal but ya humans have nice food and its tasty! Like, why does Dionysus need to drink wine if he's a God? It's fun! Any-Anyways I stayed because not only shelter and food, but wealthy shelter and food," he laughed with her at that, which made her feel a bit calm continuing her tale, "And… family. Never really had that living all those centuries so… it was nice. I hit my teeth and kept a hood on the entire time, told 'em not to touch it or give me bathing nurses because personal reasons. They never questioned it 'cause it as an arranged deal, y'know? B-But uh, they caught me. I accidentally bared my fangs once and I got caught and… all Hades broke loose." She took a breath, taking a sip of her red wine, enjoying the taste sliding down her throat.</p><p>"What… what really happened to them?" he quietly asked. "I-I mean, you can stop there—"</p><p>"N-No, no, it's fine," she assured him. He was listening, he was attentive, he meant it. "They uh. We all went out. The entire estate, we were all close. Or at least I was. I hung out with most the help—" Runaan, Ethari," anyways uh, we all went to the lake. I'm, sure ya know the one near town?" He nodded. "Yeah, that's where it happened. And they ran screaming for the Lord's help." She bit her lip, nodding as the tears threatened to form. "Yeah… I went home 'cause I thought they'd eventually come back and… now it's my place!" She let out a humourless laugh.</p><p>This was dumb. This was stupid. The tears began to spill. This was not worth it—</p><p>A hand fell atop hers and she looked up to find Callum staring at her. His face, heck even if it was pity, was sincerely staring at her as if to say, I am here. A moment passed, and he released a sigh.</p><p>"When I was 10, my mom and step-dad and little brother, were killed by a monster," his breath was shaky, his hand clenched onto hers and she returned the embrace with ease. "C-Claw marks. Torn limb from limb I—" He slammed his other hand onto the table, his tears already falling. "I was off with friends. Being dumb—" he swallowed the words, another breath, "And yeah… no one believed me. The town was nearly convinced I did because it was such a ludicrous story an-and yeah… I left. To find the monster that did it but also…" he looked up at her with a smile. "To make sure that it never happened again. So…. 9 years later and here I am. Talking with a vam—Empousa, eating dinner."</p><p>She laughed, sniffling away her tears as he wiped his off with his free hand. "Quite the pair, aren't we, Sir Callum?"</p><p>He nodded, grinning ear to ear. "Indeed we are Lady Rayla."</p><p>The moment stayed, with the two staring into each other's tearful ridden eyes. That was a lot to share for a first date. Maybe it was a date? Who knew. But Rayla didn't regret it. There was more to his story too, she knew this. A step-dad implied a lot of things, the reason why he wasn't there, the way the village must've treated him—but tit for tat, she had her own reasons not to share. Maybe not yet.</p><p>"I… I'm sorry one of my kind—" he nodded rapidly, expressing his gratitude but also implying he didn't want to go any further with the story, "but I just wanted to say. I've never done anythin' like that to—" She couldn't ever bring herself to just hurt innocents like that.</p><p>"I know," he smiled. She raised a brow. "I mean, I clearly pissed you off with a misinterpreted date earlier and I'm still alive right?"</p><p>She laughed, feeling her face flush at the memory. "Ri-Right, 'bout that—"</p><p>"This is a date, by the way," he randomly said, and a surge of relief washed over her, "I… I was caught up with my job and I am still abiding by it. Even with… apparently unkillable Greek Myths roaming around because I swore I would. But… I felt really bad about what I did and how you reacted," embarrassment was swelling within her now, "I'm just… I am sorry, Rayla. I know I was trying to kill you but, I didn't mean to hurt you."</p><p>She laughed at that, and soon enough her ears were blessed with his joint laughter as well. That line was so strange and such a juxtaposition but she got what he meant by that. It was entirely different, what his mission was. A path of vengeance and justice, maybe, but he didn't seem a fellow who wanted to hurt others excessively. That was how he was with her: no nonsense every time, straight for the kill. He had an honourable heart.</p><p>She smiled. "Thanks. I… I… ya're the first person I've met that…" it was too soon for that. Too soon for any of the thoughts she was thinking of doing to him. "That's done somethin' like this for me."</p><p>He chuckled. "Well, I'm glad one of us had our firsts…" his eyes shot wide. "N-Not like that!" Rayla burst into a fit of giggles as Callum sighed, shaking his head.</p><p>Her thumb caressed his knuckles as he held his smitten smile. She lived long enough to know what a smitten smile was and he had it. Not to say she wasn't probably making a similar face, but she was just amazed it was at her for once. Her, Rayla, the Empousa of Greek Mythology, found a man who smiled at her like she was Human.</p><p>It was doomed to fail. Him, a human. Her, an immortal Daimon. His literal life goal was to kill her kind. With his determination and resolve? She believed he would one day. But despite it all, their hands were interlaced; nine fingers in a warm embrace. She felt no ill intent. Maybe she was blinded by her emotions but she decided to trust in that for now.</p><p>That would be enough for now.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Honestly this one kinda had me nervous because of all the AUs I've never done before I had NO idea how to approach this one but I felt strangely compelled to do it still? Either way, this was surprisingly fun to write! I might actually continue this one some time again, on MBTMS that is.</p><p>Until next time,</p><p>- Bleh</p>
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